Rinnegan Raising
by UchihaLord15
Summary: Nagato and Konan experience a change of heart when they see young Naruto's situation. What happens when Naruto is raised and taught by Nagato? Gotta read it to find out! NaruHina, other pairings will be revealed in the story. I don't own Naruto
1. A major change of heart

Uchiha Lord 15: This idea came to me when I was reading a fic about Deidara and Sasori raising Naruto. I hope you like it!

Pain: Aren't you forgetting something?

Uchiha Lord: Oh yeah, I don't own Naruto.

Pain:....

Uchiha Lord: Or Pain or Konan, or anyone else in the series. Happy now?

Pain: As happy as possible.

Nagato and Konan leaped through the trees. Technically, it was Konan and Nagato's Deva path Pain, which had been made from the corpse of their long dead friend Yahiko. The real Nagato was hidden on top of a nearby mountain, guarded by the other five Pains. As they traveled, Nagato remembered the conversation they had had that led to this trip.

Flashback

"Nagato, what do you think about the Kyuubi attacking Konoha?" Konan asked.

"I think it will ultimately be good for them," He stated calmly.

"What!? How can you think that will be good? They lost their Hokage and about a hundred Chunin and Jonin!" Konan shouted at him.

"Exactly. They now know what true pain is. It's exactly what we're planning on doing. Now that they have experienced pain and despair, they will seek peace and will become less violent. Overall, it will help the village to grow and become a better place," He concluded. Konan frowned.

"Talking about it subjectively, that makes sense, but for some reason I'm having doubts about it."

"Why?"

"I don't know, call it intuition. I just have a feeling it won't play out like we expect it to," She told him.

"I don't see why not. If you'd like, we could go to Konoha to see the proof," He offered.

"I think that would be a good idea," Konan said thoughtfully.

End flashback

So now they were traveling to Konoha to see the changes there in order to assure Konan that their progressing plan would work.

Their plan was rather simple: They would use the chakra of the nine Biju to build a super weapon that would wipe out entire nations with a single shot. The pain brought to the inhabitants of said nations would cause them to seek peace instead of war, ultimately bringing a temporary period of peace to the world, or at least the continent.

XXXXXXX

They arrived in Konoha a little less than a week after the Kyuubi's attack. Nagato's main body and the other five paths of Pain were hidden on top of – yet again – a nearby mountain.

The two of them had taken the time to blend in a little bit; They wore long, dark gray, hooded cloaks that covered them completely. Nagato was using a very small genjutsu to make his Rinnegan look like normal dark blue eyes. He was also hiding his facial piercings so as not to draw attention to himself. Konan had no need for genjutsu, since she had no doujutsu or piercings to hide. Neither of them was wearing their slashed Amegakure headbands.

"The trip was pretty long, do you mind going to get a snack?" Konan asked him.

"Not at all. You can get something to eat while I take a look around," He told her. She nodded and they quickly found a stall selling sweets and tea. While Konan sat down and looked for something good, Nagato began walking around the village, looking for a leaf nin to talk to. He soon found one, a Chunin with a beard and a cigarette sticking out of his mouth.

"Excuse me, can I talk to you about something?" Nagato asked politely. The man glanced at him and shrugged.

"Sure, I got nothing better to do." He leaned against a wall and took out another cigarette as the one he had in his mouth went out.

"Well, I'm a foreign ninja, I came here because I heard of the Kyuubi's attack and I wanted to check up on some friends of mine who live in Konoha. I happen to know some things about the Biju, and I wanted to ask you a question."

"Go ahead," The cigarette smoking Chunin said.

"Well, I know that the Biju can't be killed, only sealed away. I also know that the most common container is a newborn child, who can adapt to the Biju's chakra. I was just wondering who the Yondaime used as the container." The man's eyebrows went up.

"You do know a lot," He remarked. "Why do you wanna know?"

"Curiosity." Nagato answered. The man shrugged.

"I haven't seen him myself, but I have heard he's got bright blonde hair and his name is Uzumaki Naruto. Oh, and he's apparently guarded by ANBU, so there's no point in trying to kill him, if that's what you're after."

"I'm not an assassin," Nagato said, a little disgruntled. The man held up his hands apologetically.

"Sorry, didn't mean to upset you. Anything else you wanted to ask?"

"No, thank you." Nagato walked away. He returned to Konan, who was finishing her dango and green tea.

"So, what did you find out?" She asked casually. He sat down and leaned closer, speaking in a low voice.

"The jinchuriki is a blond boy named Uzumaki Naruto. Have you heard that family name before?" She thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"Nope, never. He's not affiliated with any ninja clans."

"That'll make him an easier target when we're ready," Nagato said thoughtfully. They sat there in silence for a moment. Konan was drinking the last of her green tea when they heard a shout. They both turned curiously to see a mob of civilians all yelling and apparently attacking something on the ground. The two shinboi picked up a few of the things they were yelling.

"Die, demon!"

"Yeah, you little monster!"

"Yeah!"

"Kill him!"

"Who are they attacking?" Nagato wondered aloud. He peered forward to try and see the target of the villagers anger. He couldn't see anything at first, even with his Rinnegan. Then he saw something that shocked him to his core. "No, that can't be…" He trailed off as he and Konan stood up and took a few steps forward to get a closer look. Konan gasped. They looked at each other for an instant then ran forward together. A long black blade slid out of each of Nagato's sleeves and he grabbed them, holding them like swords. Konan performed a jutsu with her chakra infused paper.

The villagers were taken completely by surprise when three of them were slashed across the back by an orange haired man. They were turning to fend him off when he snapped his arms back the other way and threw the blades like two long kunai, stabbing two more men in the stomach and knocking them down. Before anyone could attack him, two dozen small blades made out of paper shot down from the sky, stabbing several more people and keeping them down. The men looked up to see a blue haired woman floating above them by use of her large wings. She folded the wings and fell to the ground, crouching down. Without a word, Nagato placed a hand on her back and leaped up over her. As soon as he did, Konan snapped the wings out to their full length and swung them in a large circle, sending paper blades in all directions, easily taking out the rest of the civilians. An ANBU member who had been leaning against a wall watching the civilians attack their helpless victim, was now running forward, pulling out his sword. Nagato thrust his hand out as he fell and a burst of wind flew forward, hitting the ANBU in the stomach and sending him flying backward. He crashed against a wall and his head hit it hard. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

Nagato and Konan rose to their feet, completely unblemished. Konan's paper wings fell apart, and the paper slid back under her cloak.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" They turned to see a young girl approaching them. She had a bruise on her head. "I was taking care of Naruto when his guard knocked me out. I woke up to see them attacking Naruto, but I didn't know what to do. I'm a medic nin, not a fighter," She explained.

"Well then, don't you think you should heal Naruto?" Nagato asked. She gasped.

"Yes of course, I'm such an idiot sometimes!" She knelt down and put her hands over the bleeding blond baby. He had been stabbed and cut in various places across his body, it was a miracle he was still alive. A blue glow surrounded him as the girl healed his wounds.

"What's your name?" Konan asked her.

"Shizune," The girl answered. The glow vanished and Naruto was perfectly healed. "Oh, I can't believe even the ANBU would try to kill him! I mean, he's a baby! I don't care what reason they have, they have no right to try to kill a helpless baby."

"I agree," Nagato said calmly. He was calm outwardly, but on the inside he was wishing he could take each of the people who had attacked Naruto and teach them what happens to real monsters like them. Sadly, they would probably get away with a very small punishment. Shizune picked up the baby and cradled him.

"I should take him to Tsunade-sensei, she'll know what to do," it seemed as if Shizune was speaking to herself.

"Tsunade? Of the Sannin?" Konan inquired. "She's your sensei?"

"Yes. Why, do you know her?"

"Kind of," Konan said. "We met her a long time ago."

"Well then, would you like to come with me?"

"No thanks," Konan told her with a smile. "She probably doesn't even remember us."

"Okay. Well, thanks for saving Naruto." Shizune waved goodbye as she headed for the Hokage tower. Nagato was watching her leave while thinking about the attack when Konan called to him.

"Nagato, what are you waiting for?" He looked up to see her standing on top of a building. He shunshinned next to her.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about following her to make sure Naruto doesn't get attacked again." Without waiting for a reply, Konan took off after Shizune, leaping from building to building. Nagato followed.

"That's not at all what I expected." He told his friend.

"Well, if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. They were hurt by the Kyuubi and they want revenge. Naruto is a convenient if illogical target, so they went after him. It's the chain of hatred all over again."

"I know, but I had expected them to want peace, not more violence!" Nagato exploded. "It doesn't make sense!"

"Nagato, I'm worried that our plan will have the same results," Konan confided.

"What? Why?"

"Simple. If we take out an entire nation, any survivors will have a monstrous amount of hate and anger in them, and they'll want revenge. Whoever used the weapon will be their target, and if they can't do anything to that person, their revenge will simply build and build until they just lash out at anything. My point is that they'll be like those villagers; they'll just want more revenge instead of peace. They held an incredible amount of hatred towards a _baby_, just because he has the Kyuubi sealed inside him. The demon destroyed less than a fourth of Konoha. If we make a weapon that destroys an entire _nation_, there's no telling how angry the survivors will be. And they'll have a logical target. It won't bring peace, Nagato, it'll just bring more hatred!" She suddenly got very angry at the end of her little speech. "You'll break some of the old chains of hatred, but you'll create a new chain. That's the exact opposite of what we want."

Nagato had absolutely no response. The problem was, he agreed with her. Everything she said was right on target.

_Then what will we do?_ He asked himself.

"Konan, you keep following Shizune, I need some time alone." Konan nodded. Nagato stopped on the next roof while Konan kept going.

_Dammit! This is not good. Well, it's better than following through with our plan and having it fail, but still! I was sure this would work, now it looks like fear and pain won't help at all. Even worse, it'll make new chains of hatred, as Konan pointed out. What am I supposed to do now? I'm the messiah, I should be able to figure out how to bring peace to the world! _

XXXXXXX

Shizune entered the Hokage tower and quickly went upstairs to the Hokage's office. After a brief argument with the secretary, Shizune was let in. Tsunade and her teammate Jiraiya were there, talking to Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage.

"Shizune, is something wrong?" Tsunade asked her apprentice.

"Yes, Tsunade-sensei." Shizune quickly related the details of the attack on Naruto. When she was done, both Sannin and the Hokage were astonished and angry.

"How dare they even _think _of doing that to him!?" Tsunade erupted.

"Who were the two people that saved him?" Jiraiya asked Shizune.

"One was a man with spiky orange hair, he used a pair of odd black blades and a Futon jutsu. The other was a woman with blue hair. She made wings and kunai out of what appeared to be paper." Jiraiya gaped at her for a moment.

"Did you see a man with red hair nearby?" He asked eagerly. Shizune thought for a moment.

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

"Because, I'm pretty sure I know those two. Tsunade, do you remember during the third great ninja war, when you, Oro, and I ran into those three war orphans from Ame?"

"Yes, because you stayed with them for three years to train them."

"Well the girl, Konan, she developed jutsu to control paper, in order to make use of her origami talents. And Yahiko had spiky orange hair, just like Shizune described. The third one, Nagato, he had red hair, not to mention the Rinnegan."

"THE RINNEGAN!?" Tsunade exploded. "You met someone with the Rinnegan and you never told us?!"

"I told Sarutobi sensei, but for some reason I never got around to telling you and Oro. And anyways, I heard they all died a few years after I left them. I hope Nagato didn't die, that would be really bad."

"Well, if we can find those two again, we can ask them," Sarutobi reasoned. "I'll send out an ANBU squad to search for them."

XXXXXXX

Konan was leaning against the side of a building across the street from the Hokage tower. She had sent in some paper butterflies to keep an eye on Naruto. If someone attacked him, the butterflies would turn to weapons and attack, buying enough time for her to get to him. She felt sad as she saw Jiraiya and remembered Nagato saying that they shouldn't contact him. She knew that Nagato disliked Konoha ninja because of the incident during the war, but Jiraiya had cared for them and taught them for three whole years, and she still thought of him almost as a surrogate father. She doubted that Nagato had lost his own feelings for Jiraiya, but she knew he would act as though he had.

She was lost in thought and in the small communication she had with her butterflies when she suddenly found a kunai at her throat. She came out of her reverie and looked up at a man with ridiculously spiky silver hair, wearing his headband at an angle so as to cover his left eye.

"I saw you and your friend attack those people," He told her. "I don't disagree with helping Naruto, I would have done the same thing if you hadn't gotten there first, but I would know you if you were from Konoha. Who are you and your friend and where are you from?"

"We're travelers, we're not affiliating ourselves with any ninja village."

"You could never have gotten as strong as you are without formal training. What village were you originally affiliated with?" She hesitated for a moment.

"Ame." He raised an eyebrow.

"You expect me to just believe you?"

"Well if you don't believe me, why don't we go talk to the Sannin? Jiraiya-san knows me and he can confirm that I'm from Ame."

"Maybe I will. Where's your friend?" Konan shrugged.

"I don't know, he went off by himself to think about something." Kakashi frowned. He was a master of reading body language, and he couldn't see any sign that she was lying.

"Okay, come with me." He kept the kunai at her throat as they went up to the Hokage's office. Kakashi told the receptionist that he had a foreign ninja who wanted to talk to the Sannin. They were sent in a few moments later. Konan smiled when Jiraiya's jaw hit the floor.

"Konan!" He yelled, shocking everyone in the room. "It is you!" He darted forward and was about to hug her when Tsunade grabbed him by the back of his shirt and yanked him away.

"Don't try to feel her up, pervert!" She snapped at her teammate. He sent her an angry look.

"She's a former student of mine, I'm happy to see her again, and I wasn't trying to feel her up!" He thought for a moment before adding, "Much."

"Jiraiya-sensei," Konan began kindly. "Do you know I keep a stock of paper that's dipped in poison that can enter through a person's skin and paralyze him for several hours while causing him intense pain?" The Toad Sage paled and backed away a few steps as Tsunade laughed.

"I like her style," The slug queen said, grinning at the blue haired girl. "But Shizune said that your friend Yahiko was with you." A pained look flashed across Konan's face, and was noticed by everybody in the room.

"No, that was Nagato." She saw Jiraiya open his mouth and she quickly cut him off. "It's complicated. When Nagato arrives, he can explain, or not. Just wait, he'll show up." Jiraiya nodded and his teammate and sensei followed his lead.

XXXXXXX

About forty minutes later, the door opened and Nagato walked in, with another ANBU holding a kunai to his throat. He waited for the ANBU to leave before facing Jiraiya and dropping his genjutsu, revealing his Rinnegan and facial piercings.

"Bu-but, Nagato had the Rinnegan!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "Not you Yahiko!"

"I am Nagato, not Yahiko. More specifically, I am Pain." This naturally raised a lot of eyebrows.

"Pain?" Sarutobi inquired.

"yes, Hokage-sama. This form goes by the name of Pain."

"This form?" Jiraiya repeated. "What do you mean by that?" Pain glanced at Konan who nodded very slightly. He took a deep breath, then launched into an explanation.

"Yahiko died several years ago. Because of his death, my Rinnegan activated to a higher level than usual, allowing me to use jutsus instinctively. I summoned an unusual creature that killed many of the people responsible for Yahiko's death. Unfortunately, I failed to kill Hanzo and Danzo."

"Danzo? What did Danzo have to do with Hanzo?" Sarutobi asked.

"They formed an alliance with the intention of getting rid of the group we had formed. Our group was determined to bring peace, but Hanzo believed we would get in his way, so he pretended to offer us an alliance. He kidnapped Konan and told me to kill Yahiko or watch Konan die. I didn't know what to do, I froze up," He admitted. "Yahiko and Konan were both willing to die for the other. Yahiko then grabbed my hand and forced me to stab him in the heart, killing him. That was when my Rinnegan activated and Hanzo and Danzo ordered their men to kill me. During the fight my legs were severely burned and damaged. I learned the technique that made the Rikudou Sennin so powerful. It allows the user to reanimate corpses and use them as his own bodies, by use of demodulators implanted in the body. Yahiko's corpse is one of six that I control. His is the most powerful, bearing the title of the Deva Path. Altogether, they are known as the Six Paths of Pain. The demodulators are the body piercings." He gestured at his nose and ear studs.

"So where is the real you?" Jiraiya asked.

"My real self was, as I already said, handicapped. I'm currently in a chair like device with legs attached for transport. I have many large demodulator rods implanted in my back, allowing me to transmit my chakra to the Six Paths." There was silence as the leaf ninjas absorbed everything they had heard.

"Well, may I ask what your intentions are now?" Sarutobi directed his question at Pain.

"I'm not sure anymore," Pain admitted. "I've been thinking for a long time about the best way to bring peace to the world as my ancestor the Rikudou Sennin did. I thought I had found the solution; My belief was that by bringing great pain to people, I would cause them to seek peace instead of war, initiating a period of peace in our lands. At first I thought that the Kyuubi's attack would have the same effect on Konoha, but then Konan and I witnessed the villagers trying to kill Naruto, for no other reason than that the demon is sealed inside of him. I have therefore come to the conclusion that my method would only have bred more hatred and revenge. So, right now, I simply wish to observe people in general so that I might have a better idea of how to bring about peace. If you will allow it, I would like to become a citizen of Konoha."

"Why not become a ninja?" Sarutobi asked.

"Because with my abilities I will be sent on A and S rank missions, and I am afraid that missions like that will cause the exact opposite of what I want. I would not be adverse to taking on the occasional mission that I agree with, but I do not want to be an official ninja of Konoha."

"Nagato, you won't get a good understanding of people if you're always in Konoha," Jiraiya warned him.

"I disagree. Besides, there is one more thing I wish to do since I will be staying in Konoha."

"Oh? What's that?" Sarutobi inquired. Pain smiled in anticipation.

"I wish to adopt Uzumaki Naruto in order to protect him as he grows up." A stunned silence followed his words. Even Konan was staring at him in shock. Jiraiya broke the silence.

"I think the Nara would say something like: 'This is gonna be really troublesome'."


	2. The Uchihas

Six years after the Kyuubi's attack

"Hey, Uncle Nagato!" Nagato's Deva Path Pain turned to see a blonde ball of energy running up to him. "How do you and Aunt Konan do all those cool things? Can you teach me how to do them?" Nagato's eyes widened when he realized Naruto wanted to learn jutsus. Thanks to his Rinnegan he could see that the boy's chakra coils were already sufficiently developed, and since he would be starting at the ninja academy in a few months, it would be good for him to already know some jutsus.

"I can teach you how to do them Naruto, but I'll warn you right now that it will take a lot of time and effort. People usually don't start learning jutsus until they're ten years old, and it still takes time to perfect them."

"I don't care, I'll work however hard I need to learn them!" Naruto exclaimed, well, more like yelled. Nagato smiled as he remembered Yahiko being just as excited when Jiraiya first offered to teach them ninjutsu.

"Okay then, let's get started. This jutsu is the simplest, it's called Henge No Jutsu, or the Art of Transformation. With it, you can change into another shape." He demonstrated, turning into a copy of Sarutobi. Naruto's eyes got as large as dinner plates.

"Awesome!! So how do I do that!?" Konan came into the room at that moment.

"What's with the noisemaker?" She grumbled sleepily. "I was having a great dream just a moment ago."

"Sorry Aunt Konan," Naruto apologized. "Uncle Nagato's teaching me jutsus." Konan blinked in surprise.

"Already? Are you sure his chakra coils can handle it, Nagato?"

"Yes, I'm positive," Nagato assured her. A thought suddenly floated into his head. "What were you dreaming about?" She suddenly turned red and glanced at the floor.

"Um, nothing important. I'm gonna go get dressed." She turned around and hurried back to her room before Nagato could ask her anything else.

XXXXXXX

A few months later, Konan escorted Naruto to the academy. He was talking nonstop about how awesome it was going to be on the way there. Konan saw him off with a smile. She then walked down the street until she was out of sight of the academy and performed a jutsu. Hundreds of sheets of paper slid out of her cloak and came together to make a clone of her. The clone turned to paper again and subtly returned to the academy to secretly keep an eye on Naruto. She and Nagato were both very fond of the boy, and they wouldn't let anything happen to him.

XXXXXXX

As Naruto walked down the hallway, a lot of people were staring at him. He was wearing non descript clothes: a plain black t-shirt and black sweatpants, along with traditional black ninja sandals. However, there was one thing about him that drew the attention of everyone: the three scars on each cheek that resembled whiskers. Nagato had convinced Sarutobi that it was pointless to keep the knowledge of the Kyuubi's fate a secret to the younger generation, and all the kids at the academy had been warned of 'the Kyuubi kid'. Naruto understood that a lot of older people who had witnessed the Kyuubi's attack were scared of him and angry at him. It didn't bother him, he was able to accept that fact and simply ignore the angry glares and the names they called him sometimes. Nagato and Konan had both had to beat the crap out of people who had actually threatened or attacked him. Their message was clear: Don't mess with Naruto unless you enjoy pain.

Unfortunately for Naruto, this intimidating and impressive reputation and standing was appealing to some girls, whom Nagato called 'dumb fangirls'. He had given Naruto a warning to stay clear of them and not say or do anything to make them like him. The warning had grown into a long discussion about how to say the right thing without being too rude, and Naruto had eventually left with his head pounding as he tried to remember everything. Konan had later given him a condensed version of the rules that was much easier to understand.

When Naruto walked into his homeroom, silence spread through the room. He sighed internally as he went to a seat with no one sitting next to it. He sat down and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. Slowly, whispers were exchanged between friends, then the whispers slowly became conversation, thankfully not involving Naruto. A black haired boy walked into the room and glanced around. He frowned when he saw that the only open seat was next to Naruto. He hesitantly walked over to him, eyeing Naruto warily. The rest of the class watched with bated breath to see what Naruto's reaction would be. When the room fell silent again, Naruto opened one eye and swiveled it around to look at the boy who was standing next to his desk.

"What are you staring at?" Naruto asked him. Most of the class flinched at the sound of his hard voice that was so out of place in a six year old. The boy hesitated before speaking.

"Um, could I sit here?" Naruto stared at him unemotionally for a moment before talking, it was a trick he'd learned from his uncle Nagato to unnerve people.

"Why are you asking me for permission to sit down?"

"Well um, you're, you know," Naruto cut him off before he could continue.

"If you call me 'Kyuubi', 'monster', or 'demon', I'll make you regret it," He warned the boy. "And if that was your reason for needing to ask permission, then you're an idiot. I'm not the Kyuubi and I'm not going to kill you just for sitting next to me." The boy frowned before sitting down next to him. Naruto closed his eye again. At that moment their sensei walked into the room.

"I'd say settle down, but it looks like I actually got a good bunch of kids this year," He told them. Naruto couldn't help snorting in amusement as he opened his eyes and looked down at the teacher. The man looked up at him then deliberately looked away again. "Now then, I'd like to start things off with having everyone introduce themselves and say something about ourselves." One by one the kids in the room introduced themselves.

"Nara Shikamaru, I just want an average shinobi career where I don't have to do anything too troublesome."

"Akimichi Choji, I want to become a great clan leader like my dad."

"I am Yamanaka Ino, and I want," She glanced at the black haired boy next to Naruto before bursting into giggles and sitting down. Naruto saw the boy roll his eyes exasperatedly. He leaned over and whispered in his ear,

"Fangirl?" The boy jumped, then nodded.

"The worst," He added. Naruto chuckled, drawing a few half-frightened stares. He was already getting sick of having everyone be scared of him.

The boy next to Naruto stood up.

"Uchiha Sasuke, I want to be just as good a shinobi as my older brother." He sat down and Naruto stood up, smiling.

"Uzumaki Naruto, my one and only goal is to one day become the greatest Hokage ever." He sat down, enjoying the surprised expression on everyone's faces.

Their first lesson was really just a lecture.

_Oh, come on! I've already sat through Uncle Nagato's lectures on chakra, how much more do I have to suffer?_ He considered following Shikamaru's example and taking a nap, but he knew his aunt and uncle would be disappointed, so he stayed awake and listened to the dull history lecture. When it was finally done they went outside for physical exercises. Naruto grinned happily when the teacher announced a race. Uncle Nagato had had him work out every day since he turned six, and now it was going to pay off. Their sensei blew a whistle and Naruto easily pulled ahead of the other kids. When he was about fifty feet from the finish line he couldn't resist turning around and running backward the rest of the way, sending a broad grin toward his irritated classmates, who were all at least thirty feet behind him. To top it off the other kids were bent over panting after the race while Naruto stood nearby breathing a little harder than normal, and ignoring the angry glares they sent at him. At least they were angry at him for a good reason.

To be honest, he did have an unfair advantage: the Kyuubi gave him much more stamina than anyone his age. According to Nagato it was also the cause for his larger-than-usual chakra reserves.

His sensei praised him, which he hadn't expected. He was actually very modest about it, giving the excuse that his uncle had been training him for several months. Unfortunately, this violated one of Konan's rules regarding fangirls, which was to not say anything that someone else his age probably wouldn't say. Predictably, the two fangirls in his class only thought even more highly of him when they heard his excuse. He noticed the pink haired girl gazing at him with a far away look in her eyes and began mentally smacking himself in the head.

_Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!_ He yelled as he hit himself. Outwardly he remained calm and unaffected, which was another trick he had picked up from his uncle.

He noticed that Sasuke had come in second. He wondered vaguely if he might be better than his first impression suggested.

XXXXXXX

Two years later

An eight year old Naruto waved goodbye to his aunt as his friends approached him. After the first few weeks the other students had begun to realize that he wasn't as bad as they or their parents expected. Inuzuka Kiba had been the first person to talk to Naruto and ask if they could hang out. He had been happily accepted as Naruto's first friend. Once Kiba survived, the other students lost their fear and joined in. Their group was made up of Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, Aburame Shino, Hyuga Hinata, and Haruno Sakura. Naruto wasn't eager to have his pink fangirl included in his group but he couldn't be openly rude to her either. He just made sure the rest of his friends knew she was nothing more than a friend. He had completely missed the relieved look that crossed Hinata's face when he told them all.

Kiba was mystified as to how someone who was brilliant enough to know five jutsus at the age of eight and was top of the class _still_ didn't realize that Hinata liked him, even after knowing her for two years.

Sasuke was definitely his rival. Naruto was top of the class and Sasuke was second. He had been bitterly disappointed when he had given his father his first year report card only to have Fugaku say nothing but:

"You were second" before leaving. The next day Sasuke had been incredibly nasty towards his rival, going so far as to call him the fox brat. Luckily for the Uchiha, the teachers managed to hold Naruto and his friends back.

However, there were far more serious things happening on one particular night.

Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother, was standing in front of Sarutobi's desk giving him a report.

"I'm afraid I was unable to convince father to give up the idea of a coup. He is determined to follow his foolish goal." Sarutobi sighed in despair.

"Very well, I am afraid we must carry out the contingency plan."

"There is a problem with that," Itachi said calmly. "I am undoubtedly one of the most powerful ninjas in the village, but even I cannot kill all the Uchihas, not even all the Uchiha ninjas. Even if I left the normal civilians alive, I would fail."

"Well then, you must get help," Sarutobi stated.

"Yes, and I think I could get someone to help me, but it would be risky. He's a nukenin," He explained.

"I see. I don't want to have a huge group of leaf nins attacking the Uchiha compound though, so it seems we have a problem. Jiraiya is too far away to get here in time, and no other single leaf nin would be strong enough." _Wait a minute. There's no leaf nin strong enough, but what about…_ "Itachi, I have an idea. What do you think about working with a foreign ninja?"

XXXXXXX

The next night found Itachi waiting just outside the Uchiha compound, eating a stick of chocolate pocky as he waited. He sensed chakra and turned to see seven figures seemingly detach themselves from the shadows and come to a halt a few feet away from him. Six of them were men who had bright orange hair worn in various styles, and the seventh was a woman with blue hair and an origami flower stuck in her hair.

"The Six Paths of Pain, I presume," Itachi stated calmly, as if he saw six men with the Rinnegan every night.

"Yes, and my friend Konan," The Deva Path spoke. "We all know the goal, let's get it over with." Itachi nodded, burying his emotions as he thought of killing his clansmen. The eight of them used their incredible stealth skills to get into the Uchiha compound and sneak right up to the building where every Uchiha ninja was in a meeting, discussing the final preparations for their coup. One of the Pains stepped forward; he wore his long hair in a ponytail and was easily distinguished by a long black bar that went through his nose.

"Animal Path shall make the first move," Deva Path stated. Animal Path clapped his hands together and a circle of kanji with lines spreading from the center appeared on the ground between them and the building.

"Kuchiyose No Jutsu," Animal Path declared. A huge four headed dog burst out of the circle and smashed into the building, stepping on a couple Uchihas. Screams and fearful yells came from the building, but before any of the Uchihas could react, they were attacked by eight people at the same time. Konan made several creatures out of paper that attacked of their own accord, before using some Doton jutsus to separate the Uchiha that were grouping together.

Five of the Six Paths took out Chakra Disruption Blades and began carving through their enemies, while the Asura Path pulled off his cloak to reveal six arms and a long serrated blade that could be used like a tail. He detached two arms and began firing small missiles from inside them at the Uchihas. Multiple curved blades unfolded from the other four arms and he sliced up any Uchiha who came near him. Human Path soon discarded the blades and began using his technique of ripping out his opponent's soul by grabbing their head. With his unnaturally high taijutsu abilities he was easily able to dodge their attacks and grab their head for a moment. Animal Path summoned a monstrous centipede to join the dog in attacking the Uchihas. Itachi began shooting Katon jutsus in every direction, and used his ANBU sword to dispatch anyone who came too close to him.

Deva Path headed for the middle of the room. As soon as he reached his destination he stopped. The other five Pains and the summons retreated, pulling Konan and Itachi with them. Naturally, there was a moment of confusion among the Uchihas.

"Shinra Tensei!" Deva Path declared. A wave of gravitic force blasted out from him in all directions, sending the Uchiha flying. Many of them were killed when they hit various sharp or hard objects. The ones who were left alive were set upon by the other seven attackers and the two summons. Make that five summons, as the four headed dog separated into four one headed dogs.

Itachi wasn't surprised to see that his father was one of the survivors. He related this information to Konan and the Naraka Path Pain. He then went straight for his father while his allies attacked the other survivors. The two Uchiha fought for several long minutes. Fugaku had more experience, but Itachi was a genius and had a much stronger motivation. Eventually Fugaku managed to get in a slash at Itachi's head with a kunai. Itachi barely avoided, and his ANBU mask was hit and shattered. Fugaku gasped as he looked at his son.

"Hello, father," Itachi said calmly. He then looked his father in the eye and activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. Fugaku found himself tied to a post in the middle of a colorless world.

"What is this?" He couldn't help a little bit of fear from entering his voice.

"This is Tsukuyomi, the nightmare realm." Itachi's calm voice seemed to come from everywhere at the same time. "I apologize for doing this to you father, but it is necessary. Had you attempted the coup d'état, you would have failed and caused much damage to people all over the elemental nations. I was forced to tell the Hokage about it, and he assigned myself and Nagato-san the mission of killing all the Uchiha ninjas. Again, I apologize." Before Fugaku could respond he was stabbed all over by sword wielding Itachis.

In the real world, Itachi and Fugaku were still for several seconds, then Fugaku collapsed, unconscious. Itachi reached down and, with only a momentary hesitation and tremor of the hand, stabbed his father in the throat.

_He'll have nightmares about that for a long time._ Pain thought as he watched Itachi. The last Uchiha fell to the ground as Asura Path tore his heart to ribbons.

XXXXXXX

Sasuke had been sitting in his room studying for the upcoming history test when he heard the explosions. He rushed outside to see a huge multi-headed dog attacking part of the Uchiha compound.

"What's going on?" He asked his uncle, who was standing nearby.

"I don't know," his uncle answered. "All I know is that all the shinobi in the clan were having a meeting over there, and now this is happening!" As he spoke a series of explosions went off, sending smoke and fire into the air. Screams filled the air.

"Father!" Sasuke screamed as he ran toward the site of the attack. "Mother! Aniki!" He was suddenly yanked back by the collar of his jacket. His uncle grabbed him in a bear hug to prevent him from moving.

"No, Sasuke! You won't be able to do anything, you'll just get yourself killed!" They both had tears streaming down their faces as they watched a huge centipede appear and attack. A few moments later there was an explosive noise as chunks of wood and stone were sent flying into the air, along with several people. The dog split into four and resumed their attack.

Less than a minute later, the night fell silent. The civilians were waiting to try and figure out what was happening. The five creatures vanished in huge puffs of smoke and some people started talking.

"Do you think it's safe to go look?"

"Are you insane? There must have been some seriously powerful ninjas there to control such monsters! I'm waiting for a while." Sasuke's uncle let him go. Sasuke sank to his knees as he began sobbing. He knew that the Uchiha ninja had been killed, if they hadn't there would be someone coming to talk to the civilians.

_Father, mother, and aniki, they're all gone._ He felt some of his close relatives nearby, offering him their support. His uncle hugged him, but didn't receive any reaction from Sasuke. The boy was lost in a world of grief.

XXXXXXX

Itachi stood shakily and looked at his allies.

"We've done it," Deva Path stated. "We must report to the Hokage." Itachi nodded dully. Konan remembered what it was like to lose her parents and her best friend, and couldn't even imagine what it would be like to have killed them with her own hands. She walked over to Itachi and put her arms around him.

"It's okay Itachi. You had to do it, you did your duty. No one thinks any less of you." A tear ran down Itachi's face, then he hugged her back and put his head against her shoulder as he cried. Konan held him tightly, lending him her support and her strength. Deva Path walked over and put his hand on Itachi's shoulder, squeezing it gently.

After a minute or so, Itachi straightened up and wiped his eyes as Konan let go of him.

"Thank you," He said. "I apologize, shinobi aren't supposed to cry." Deva Path chuckled.

"My best friend and I were both fearsome shinobi, even in our youth, and we both cried plenty of times. It's more of a guideline than a rule, you just can't let your emotions prevent you from accomplishing your goal." Itachi nodded, glancing at the corpses surrounding them. Deva Path put a hand on Itachi's shoulder and performed a shunshin, teleporting them both to the Hokage's office. The other five Paths and Konan arrived a moment later.

"The mission was a success," Konan told him. "All the Uchiha shinobi have been executed, except for Itachi of course."

"Well done. Thank you very much for agreeing to do this," Sarutobi thanked them sincerely. He glanced at Itachi, whose eyes and face were still red. "Itachi, you may have a month off from your duties if you like."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"You may leave. Itachi, you probably need to give your clansmen an explanation." Itachi nodded dully again, thinking of his little brother.

XXXXXXX

Sasuke was still kneeling on the ground crying when he heard murmurs. He glanced up to see what was happening. His eyes were filled with tears, making it hard to see, but he could tell that someone dressed in ANBU gear was approaching them. He wiped his eyes to see his older brother.

"Aniki!" He yelled as he sprang up and hurried forward. "What happened? What's going on? Are mother and father safe?" Itachi didn't speak for a moment, causing the rest of the clan to grow nervous.

"No, Sasuke. Mother and father are dead." Sasuke began crying again.

"How did you survive if they didn't?" Their uncle asked him.

"I survived because I was the one to tell the Hokage of the planned coup." Gasps rose from the adults, and the children looked around confused.

"Wh-what coup?" Sasuke asked.

"Father believed that the clan deserved to rule the village, so he planned a coup d'etat. I reported it to the Hokage and he assigned myself and a few other high ranked ninjas the task of executing the Uchiha ninjas. His advisors wanted us to kill the entire clan, but Nagato was able to convince them that it was only necessary to eliminate the ninjas and strip the Uchihas of clan status. For supporting the idea of a coup and failing to report it, the clan shall be disgraced."

"You're a traitor!" Someone shouted at him. "You have betrayed the entire clan!"

"We won't stand for this! The Hokage won't be allowed to just tear everything away from the clan!"

"Did you not hear me?" Itachi asked calmly. "There is no more Uchiha clan. The Uchiha _family_ is currently disgraced and viewed as a family of greedy traitors. No one will care what you think is right or fair. And as for me being a traitor, that is a lie. I was loyal to my village and my Hokage, I did what was right. I am not happy to have killed my clansmen, but I am not guilty." He turned away from them and began walking away. "The bodies are all still there, you may want to bury them before they start to smell. I have no desire to see them again." He left the Uchihas in a state of despair.

XXXXXXXX

The next day, everyone heard about the Uchihas plot and their punishment. Nagato and Konan told Naruto that they had helped Itachi execute the Uchihas. He understood it pretty well, even if he didn't like the idea of his aunt and uncle being killers. He also understood that Sasuke would probably be hateful towards him since he was Nagato and Konan's surrogate nephew.

"It would be a bad idea to get angry back at him though, so just stay calm if he insults you," Nagato warned him. He had told Naruto once about the chain of hatred, and his nephew understood that it was bad to create another chain.

XXXXXXXX

The Uchiha family held a mass funeral for their dead relatives. No one from outside the clan came to the funeral. Nagato and Konan both wanted to, but they knew they would never be accepted. They regretted having to cause so much pain to so many people, but they also knew that the alternative would have caused much more pain.

Itachi tried to go with Sasuke, but his little brother insisted on going with their aunt and uncle, so Itachi went alone. He retained his calm exterior throughout the ceremony, but when he returned home he wept silently for a time in his room. He had been having nightmares recently about that night, and especially about the moment when he killed his father.

Sasuke began living with his aunt and uncle in their house, leaving Itachi alone in their old house. He had only taken a week off duty, then he started taking missions again so he could take his mind off his troubles. Sasuke resumed going to the academy around the same time. He had stayed home for a while to mourn for his parents and other relatives, and his aunt wanted him to wait longer so that the rest of the village could cool off a little bit about the revolt, but a week was his limit. During that time the wall around the compound was torn down to remind the Uchihas that they were part of the village.

As Sasuke walked to the academy he immediately noticed the changes. Everyone noticed the Uchiha fan symbol on the back of his jacket and glared openly at him. Some of them called him names and even threw things at him. He refused to acknowledge any of it. He didn't even glance at the people who were insulting him and he continued walking calmly to school.

When he arrived, it was the same story. All the kids were hanging around the courtyard, talking and waiting for the bell to ring. Almost all of them glared at him as he walked toward the door. He was hardly surprised when a few of them who were older than him got in his way.

"Why are you here, you little traitor?" The biggest one asked loudly.

"I'm here to go to school, and I'm not a traitor," Sasuke replied tightly. The kid snorted.

"Yeah right, everyone knows you Uchiha were all plotting to betray the village. You don't have any right to come here, the rest of us shouldn't have to put up with you." Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"Shut your mouth and get out of my way." He noticed that a large crowd of kids was gathering around them. The big kid's friends had made a circle around him, preventing him from running.

"What if I don't? Is the little traitor gonna make me?" The kid asked mockingly.

"Yes, I will," Sasuke replied. The kid laughed.

"Yeah right, you don't stand a chance against me." He threw a fast punch at Sasuke's head.

Only for a hand to reach out of the crowd, grab his wrist, and stop his punch easily. Before anyone could react, Naruto kicked the back of his knee viciously, knocking him to the ground. He stomped hard on the boy's stomach, causing him to shout in pain.

"Sasuke could kick your ass by himself," Naruto told him. "But even he needs some help to beat all eight of you." He stomped on the boy's face, breaking his nose, before walking past Sasuke and stopping right behind him, so they were back to back in the middle of the circle.

"I don't need your help," Sasuke told him.

"Yes, you do. Lucky for you I'm a forgiving kind of guy."

"Get them!" The big kid yelled to his friends as he stumbled to his feet. With yells, the other seven kids attacked Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke dropped into a fighting stance while Naruto pulled a scroll out of his pocket. He unrolled it to a point where a seal was visible, then stuck it in his mouth to free up his hands. The seal glowed blue and a large cloud of paper was released from it as Naruto began weaving hand signs. He dodged a few punches without even moving from his position, then cast his jutsu. Hundreds of sheets of paper began spinning around and around before coalescing into the shape of a serpent. His three enemies yelled in shock just before the snake shot forward and headbutted one of them, sending him flying backward. The tail lashed out and struck another boy. The third one attacked Naruto, who caught his hand and held him there so the snake could hit him.

Naruto turned around as he pocketed his scroll to see Sasuke fighting two boys at once. His other two opponents were already on the ground, clutching their broken jaws. As he watched, Sasuke dodged an attack and uppercutted the boy who had thrown the punch, knocking him to the ground. He did a quick spinning kick and hit the last opponent below the belt. He crumpled, clutching himself and cursing fluently.

"Nice hit," Naruto complimented him.

"Nice little non-lethal jutsu," Sasuke gestured at the snake.

"It would be bad to kill them," Naruto said. All of a sudden the crowd parted and their teacher stomped forward.

"What do you two think you're doing?! Fighting and using jutsus in the middle of a huge crowd of people?! You've both got detention for this, and be lucky that's all I'm doing!"

"It's not really fair to give Sasuke detention," Naruto spoke up. "He was attacked for no good reason, he was just fighting back. I stepped in to help him, since even he's not good enough to take on eight upperclassmen at the same time. He didn't do anything wrong, he didn't even use a jutsu." The teacher shook his head.

"No, he actually did more damage to his opponents than you did. You both have detention, don't bother arguing or it'll get worse. Now get into class now!" Naruto sighed as Sasuke shrugged. They headed for the door, side by side.

"Hey, get rid of the snake first!" Naruto chuckled as he canceled the jutsu, causing the snake to fall apart, falling to the ground as a pile of paper. He took out his scroll and sealed the paper into it with a blue glow. He went to the homeroom and sat down in his usual seat, which was a few rows over from Sasuke.

His friends started coming in a few moments later and they all crowded around him, talking to him.

"Naruto-kun, that was so awesome!" Sakura squealed. Naruto shrugged.

"Thanks," he said.

"N-Naruto-kun, that was kind of dangerous," Hinata voiced.

"Not really, I could have taken them even without that jutsu, it just made things easier."

"That was pretty cool looking, I've never seen you use it before," Kiba said. "When did you learn it?"

"Oh, a few days ago. Aunt Konan's been teaching it to me for about a month now, but it's pretty difficult to master."

"So you've got six jutsus now?" Choji ate a couple chips before finishing his sentence. "That's pretty good Naruto."

"It must have been really troublesome to learn them all though. Wouldn't you have preferred to spend that time watching clouds?"

"Maybe, but watching clouds doesn't help you protect people." Shikamaru grinned.

"That's just the kind of thing I'd expect you to say."

"Hey!" They turned to see Yamanaka Ino standing a few feet away. "Naruto's not that great, Sasuke-kun's even better!" Kiba opened his mouth to make a retort, but Naruto cut him off.

"No one's denying that Sasuke's good, but since he's all the way over there no one's bothering to talk about him. If he came over here we would be complimenting him." He looked at Sasuke with a questioning look on his face. Sasuke snorted and looked away. Ino huffed and walked off. Naruto shrugged and turned back to his friends. Kiba and Hinata sat on either side of him, as usual, and Shino, Shikamaru, and Choji sat at the desk behind them, while Sakura sat at the one in front of them so she could turn around and talk to Naruto.

None of them noticed Sasuke shooting glances at them throughout the class.

XXXXXXX

After class, Naruto and Sasuke were told to clean up all the classrooms in the academy to their teacher's specifications.

"Great, I still don't know the Kage Bunshin jutsu," Naruto grumbled as they got to work in their classroom. "Uncle Nagato's waiting to teach it to me until my reserves are big enough."

"Shadow Doppelgangers? Doesn't sound very useful," Sasuke commented.

"Wrong, they're solid. If I could do that jutsu, there could be twenty or thirty of us cleaning at the same time."

"Huh, I bet you won't be able to learn it."

"Why do you do that?" Naruto asked exasperatedly.

"What?"

"You antagonize me on purpose. You provoke me and try to get me angry. And you insult me and refuse my help. Why? Why do you hate me so much?"

"I have my reasons."

"Would these reasons include my aunt and uncle?" Sasuke glared at him angrily. "Because if so that's a really bad thing."

"Why? 'Cause you think they're actually good people?" Sasuke snapped at him. "They murdered my parents!"

"Wrong, twice. One, they _executed_ your parents, which means they had a good reason to do it, and they did it on orders. Two, that's not why it's a bad idea to hate them. Have you ever heard of the phrase, 'a chain of hatred'?"

"A chain of hatred?" Sasuke was caught off guard. "No, never." Naruto stopped cleaning and told him his uncle's belief about hatred and revenge.

"That's why it's a bad idea to hate them, because it'll cause a new chain of hatred between your clan and my and my uncle's descendants. You know what pain and loss is. You know how terrible it is to experience those feelings. Wouldn't you rather help other people avoid loss than cause more of it? Because if you inflict the same pain to people that you've experienced, they'll hate you the same way you hate Uncle Nagato and Aunt Konan." Sasuke also stopped cleaning as he gave it some real thought. It actually made a lot of sense.

"Well, I guess that makes sense."

"I don't need an answer from you now, but think about it, okay?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded slowly.

They finished cleaning in silence, and returned home an hour and a half late. Their aunts and uncles had been made aware of their detention, so no one was worried, although they did ask what had happened to get them detention.

XXXXXXX

"Oh, Sasuke was about to be attacked by eight older kids at the same time because of the whole Uchiha thing, so I stepped in to help him fight them off. I used the Ronbun Hebi Jutsu(Paper Snake Technique) you taught me."

"You didn't kill anyone, right?" Konan's questions were just a smokescreen; she already knew what had happened because of her paper clone. Naruto shook his head firmly.

"Nope, neither did Sasuke. He did really good though, he took out four of them without any jutsus."

"Pretty impressive," Nagato stated. "At least for an eight year old."

"I told him about the chain of hatred," Naruto told them. "And he seemed to actually be thinking about it. I hope he can get over what's happened."

XXXXXXX

Sasuke just said that he had gotten in a fight with some older kids, and one of his classmates had stepped in to help him, though he didn't mention who this classmate was.

XXXXXXX

A few days later Naruto and his circle of friends were eating lunch and talking when someone walked up behind them.

"Oh, hey Sasuke," Naruto greeted him.

"Hi." Sasuke paused for a moment before continuing. "Um, do you think I could eat with you guys?" There was a brief moment of stunned silence, then Naruto grinned and scooted over, making room for their new friend.


	3. The joys and troubles of life

Uchiha Lord 15: Wow, biggest chapter _ever_. over seven thousand words, i hope you all like it. Also, I'm starting to write a real novel that I hope may be puplished one day, so I would appreciate it if you could tell me what you like and don't like about my style of writing so I know what to fix and what to keep on doing. If, for whatever reason, you don't fell like it, that's fine, but I would really appreciate it.

Plus, I may be able to find some nude girl pics to send you....

Kidding, I know you could find them yourself just as easily. Anyway, thanks, and enjoy the chapter!

XXXXXXX

Ten years after the Kyuubi's attack

Konan escorted Naruto and Sasuke to the academy; Sasuke had spent the night at their apartment, which wasn't unusual. Since joining Naruto's group, Sasuke had become his best friend, and he often spent the weekends with them. At first he had been a little cold to Nagato and Konan, which both of them understood perfectly, but before long he found out what they were really like, and he grew to accept them. He sometimes trained with Naruto under Nagato, but he was forced to admit he could never keep up with the blond jinchuriki. The older Naruto got, the easier it was for him to learn jutsus. Sasuke had gone back to his old house in the Uchiha compound once and found some of his clan's jutsu scrolls so that he could learn more of them. He currently knew three: Gokakyu, Hosenka, and Hoenka. Naruto knew nine jutsus of various types.

"Hey guys, Uncle Nagato and Aunt Konan are having a birthday party for me tomorrow!" Naruto told his friends. "Do you wanna come?" Tomorrow was actually October ninth, the day before his birthday, but the village always held a huge festival to celebrate the defeat of the Kyuubi on October tenth, and Naruto wanted his friends to be able to attend the festival.

"Sure, sounds good!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Of course, Naruto-kun!" Sakura squealed, earning her a glare from Hinata. To the amazement of their entire group, Naruto _still_ didn't realize Hinata's feelings for him, which was ridiculous considering he had once won a spar through nothing but psychological warfare, preferring to break his opponent down with words and cause him to forfeit rather than actually throw a punch. Sasuke had once asked Kiba if Naruto was just pretending not to know, only to receive a bark of laughter, followed by Kiba's declaration that Naruto had been oblivious for years.

All his friends agreed to attend his birthday party the next day and they went to their homeroom, talking about random things.

"You know, something kind of odd happened last night," Naruto told Kiba. "I woke up in the middle of the night and I was thirsty, so I went to get a drink from the kitchen, and I swear there was this really soft, rhythmic, creaking noise, I couldn't figure out what it was." Sasuke chuckled.

"Sure it wasn't a ghost?" Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I don't believe in ghosts," he stated firmly.

"You sure? Cause I think I saw one a few days ago," Sasuke teased him, causing Kiba to bark with laughter.

XXXXXXX

When Naruto and Sasuke returned to the apartment after class, they were surprised to see Nagato's Asura Path using all six arms to paint seals around the door and walls of Konan's room.

"What are you doing, Uncle Nagato?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm just putting up some extra security. I guess I'm getting a little paranoid lately," Nagato acted sheepish. What he was actually doing was soundproofing Konan's room. Although he did have a plausible reason to be paranoid; a year and a half ago, he had created a seventh Path, Gado, the Hidden Path. It was hidden because no one but him and Konan knew that it existed. After it's creation it had promptly left Konoha, embarking on a long term goal: recruiting.

XXXXXXX

The Hitoshirezu Path entered the bar and looked around. It was a large crowded place, and many of the occupants were very drunk since it was so late. This made it much easier to find the person he was here to meet, since this person was not at all drunk, and was also using a Henge. He crossed the bar and sat down across from the man.

"Hoshigaki Kisame?" Hitoshirezu inquired. The man nodded.

"And you're 'Pain', aren't you?" Pain nodded. "So, Pain, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"I want to see if you're interested in joining an organization that I'm creating." Kisame raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that would depend on what this organization is going to do."

"I need to ask you first if you'll be willing to listen to my entire explanation before dismissing my idea," Pain began. Kisame shrugged.

"I didn't come all this way for nothing, so I might as well hear everything you've got to say."

"I wish to bring peace to the elemental nations." Kisame raised an eyebrow again.

"Really? And how do you plan to do that?"

"By proving that all kinds of people can understand each other," Pain answered matter of factly.

"Well, that's better than some of the crazies that pop up these days. What makes you think you'll be successful?"

"Because, if people can understand each other's pain and joy, they will forge bonds and will seek peace instead of war. This happens between individuals all the time, but I wish to make it happen between different countries. The first step of my plan is simple: I am going to make my organization out of nukenin, to prove that even criminals from different countries and with different beliefs and philosophies can work together and get along fairly well. After that, I will progress to minor nobility, then low ranked shinobi from different minor hidden villages. After that will come higher ranked shinobi, then shinobi from Konoha, Iwa, Kiri, Kusa, and Suna. If my plan works, this organization will spread across all the elemental nations, forging connections with everyone, at least indirectly." He paused to allow Kisame to absorb everything. The man was looking thoughtful.

"You know, that just might work, at least to some degree. I doubt you'll ever get Konoha and Iwa to join forces, but you may be able to extend the peace time. That's really interesting. I have a question though." Pain gestured for him to go ahead. "If I join this organization that's bent on bringing peace, will I still be able to fight and kill?" Pain smiled.

"Well, there are a lot of people who will see us as a threat, and they will have to be removed for the greater good. So, to answer your question, yes." Kisame grinned.

"And will I have power?"

"Well, my organization will be the net connecting everyone, so you will be rather famous as it's third member ever, and you will have a position of importance." Kisame held out his hand.

"Then I'm in." Pain smiled and shook his hand.

"Welcome to Akatsuki, come with me." They left the bar together and Kisame followed Pain through the dark.

"Mind if I ask something?" Kisame inquired.

"Go ahead."

"What made you come up with this plan?" Pain chuckled.

"If you'll believe it, an old pervert and two eight year old kids." He saw the disbelieving look on Kisame's face and smirked. "To elaborate, the Sannin Jiraiya, my surrogate nephew, and a child from Konoha's former Uchiha clan. I helped kill the clan's ninjas, under orders of course. Everyone has now labeled the Uchiha family as a bunch of traitors, so when the boy returned to the ninja academy he was attacked by several older students. My nephew stepped in to help him, and they ended up becoming friends. He is even accepting of my friend Konan and I, although we killed his family."

"He's eight, he's not that great an example. And I'm not seeing where the Sannin comes into this," Kisame interrupted.

"If you saw the look in his eyes when he first saw me, you wouldn't disregard him as any other eight year old. Jiraiya was my former sensei, and he used to talk to me a lot about peace, and how to achieve it despite the ninja system. He spoke of having to understand people in order to make peace with them. When I saw that Sasuke was able to overcome his hatred of us and even befriend our nephew, who is personally not treated very well in the village, I realized that Jiraiya-sensei was right, and Konan and I consequently came up with our plan."

"That's interesting. I've never heard of this Konan though, who is she?"

"She's a childhood friend of mine, and an S rank shinobi with a unique fighting style." Kisame grinned as a thought occurred to him.

"So she's just a friend to you? Nothing else?" Pain waited for a moment before speaking.

"That's right," He answered in an emotionless voice.

XXXXXXXX

That had happened about a year ago. Since then he had recruited three more members to 'Akatsuki'. Kakuzu, a nukenin of Takigakure with a very unusual Kekkei Genkai, whose only question had been: "Can I still make money?" After that had been a plantlike man named Kusaki No Zetsu (Zetsu of the Plants), from Kusagakure. He was cannibalistic, had a split personality, and was able to split himself in half. This made him perfect for Akatsuki's plans, since it would be quite an accomplishment to understand and work with Zetsu. The third member had been Akasuna No Sasori. He had joined under the condition that he had no permanent obligations to Akatsuki, as he did not like being under orders, which was why he had left Suna in the first place. He, and everyone else in Akatsuki, was allowed to leave the organization at any time they wished. As long as they did not attack Akatsuki members or else deliberately hinder their plans, Akatsuki would do nothing to them. They also had the right to refuse any missions Pain had for them.

He had recently heard of an odd cult in the Village Hidden in Steam. He was unsure what this cult revolved around, but judging from the descriptions of some of the members, it was bad news and would probably seriously hinder his plans, so he sent Zetsu to spy on them and find out more. The plant man was perfect for spying, given his ability to merge with solid objects and travel over long distances quickly. He should probably put Jiraiya-sensei in contact with him, that would prove invaluable for Konoha's spy network.

Jiraiya occasionally came to Konoha, and he always made time to see Nagato, Konan, and Naruto. He had taken a liking to Naruto, and he usually helped teach Nagato teach him. He had also taught his old student a technique that the Yondaime had developed. It was called Rasengan, and was a powerful head on attack. Nagato planned on teaching it to Naruto and Sasuke before they graduated. He had to admit though, it was rather difficult. Even with his Rinnegan's ability to see chakra, it had taken him about three weeks to master the jutsu to the point where he could use it in combat.

XXXXXXX

However, Naruto didn't know about any of this. The only thing he knew was that he would be celebrating his birthday tomorrow, and the day after that he would turn ten. His uncle had said that he'd get a really great gift for his birthday, and the only thing that Naruto thought of as a great gift was a new jutsu or fighting move, so he was especially eager.

XXXXXXX

The next day, the apartment was spectacularly decorated. Konan wasn't above using her jutsus for mundane tasks, so there were many different origami animals hanging from the ceiling. Most of them were painted intricately; it was one of the many advantages of using clones. Nagato had used all six Paths to clean up every single surface of every single room of the apartment, so it really did seem to be sparkling. The kitchen table was weighed down with party food, and there was music playing in the sitting room. Sasuke had spent the night again, and he spoke to Konan in private soon after having breakfast. She immediately went with him to the Uchiha compound to get his already wrapped gift for Naruto.

"So, what is it?" She asked him. He smiled.

"That's a secret. You'll have to wait to find out." He smirked a little bit at seeing her irritated expression.

All their friends arrived around two, all bringing presents. Sakura had brought him the largest one, and was quick to notice this fact and point it out, thoroughly irritating many of the guys.

They were all playing party games or hanging out and talking when the doorbell rang at about four. Everyone in the sitting room watched curiously as the Deva Path Pain strode over to the door and opened it to reveal an old white haired man wearing a very unusual outfit.

"You're late, the party started two hours ago," Nagato stated.

"I know, I'm really sorry, but I was conducting research early this morning and I lost track of time." Nagato gave him a deadpan stare. "I really am sorry, I wanted to be here on time," Jiraiya apologized. Nagato sighed.

"Oh well, seeing as your gift is going to be the best out of all of them, I can't very well kick you out." He stepped aside and Jiraiya walked into the apartment.

"Hey, Naruto!" Jiraiya called.

"Hey, Jiraiya!" Naruto yelled, racing over. He hugged his surrogate grandfather tightly, having not seen him for well over a year.

"Hey kid, sorry I'm late."

"It's okay, I'm just glad you're here at all!" Naruto said happily. Jiraiya grinned and messed up his hair, ignoring the fact that it was already messy.

"For those of you who don't know, Jiraya-san is one of the three Sannin, and is also my old sensei," Nagato announced to the children who were still wondering who the old man was and why Naruto was so excited to see him. The children were suitably impressed by the man, despite his odd appearance.

Soon after Jiraiya's arrival, Konan announced that it was time for Naruto to open his presents.

"Huh, I wonder if she was waiting for Jiraiya to arrive?" Shikamaru wondered.

Naruto opened his presents eagerly. Sasuke's gift turned out to be a full set of new shuriken and kunai. Kiba gave him a new black leather jacket, since his old one was getting small on him. Shino gave him two gifts: the first was a practical gift of all the textbooks for the next year at the academy, and the second was a pince-nez with round mirrored lenses. Naruto donned them immediately and looked in a mirror to admire them. Shikamaru gave him the newest edition of Konoha's Bingo Book. His reasoning was that Naruto would probably become one of Konoha's greatest shinobi, so he should start getting to know about the most dangerous threats. Nagato was rather amused when Naruto started flipping through it and stopped on Zetsu's page.

"Whoa, freaky looking guy," Naruto commented. "Is that a plant growing out of him?" His friends immediately crowded around to see the picture. Nagato took the opportunity to lean over and whisper to Konan,

"If I'd known he wanted to admire Zetsu's appearance, I would have asked him to drop by today." Konan was barely able to contain her laughter as she imagined Zetsu emerging from the wall of the apartment and scaring all the children.

After that Naruto got a cookbook from Choji and a new set of clothes from Sakura. He unwrapped Hinata's present last, and was surprised to see just a bowl. The girl quickly explained.

"I-it's a ramen bowl, Naruto-kun. The seals on the inside are designed to hold up to a week's worth of ramen, so you can have it during long missions, and it also has a pair of chopsticks sealed in the side." There followed a slightly surprised silence, then Naruto's face broke into a wide grin.

"That's awesome Hinata-chan! Thanks!" He hugged the girl, causing her face to go red, though Naruto didn't notice. Sakura glared at the girl jealously while Nagato leaned over to Konan again and asked,

"And he _still_ doesn't know?" The paper user choked on the punch she was drinking and Nagato thumped her on the back.

"Hey, that's it," Naruto noticed. "What about your gifts?" He looked up at his aunt, uncle, and grandfather. The three of them shared a quick grin before Nagato answered Naruto's question.

"All three of us are going to teach you new jutsus Naruto, and they'll all be A rank." The boy's cerulean eyes widened in shock behind his shades, then he leaped into the air with a cry of joy.

XXXXXXX

Three days later he was wondering just why he had been so excited. They'd said that Konan's jutsu was the easiest, so he had started with that one. It was her prized Ronbun Tsubasa, or Paper Wings, Jutsu. With it, he could fly and shoot off Ronbun Kunai at his enemies. Mastering it would definitely be a huge benefit, and would also help with the fighting style he was developing. Unfortunately, he was having very little success with it. The most he could do was gather paper at his shoulder blades, he was having a lot of trouble with forming the shape of the wings properly. Konan told him not to worry, that it had taken her months to develop it, but it was still incredibly frustrating to him.

XXXXXXX

"Hey, Nagato-san," Sasuke began. "You've got a doujutsu, do you have any idea how I can get my Sharingan to activate?" Nagato thought for a moment.

"Have you tried focusing chakra in your eyes?" He asked. Sasuke nodded.

"I thought of that, but it doesn't really help. According to my brother it takes a strong emotion to activate it the first time. Most of our ninjas got it during fights."

"I see. In that case, I'm not sure what I can do to help you," Nagato said apologetically.

XXXXXXX

A few days after that, Nagato took them both to training ground ten, which was a large grassy area with no cover of any kind.

"I'm giving you two special training exercises today," Nagato began. "Sasuke, we'll begin with you." He held up a bento box for the two boys to see, then stuck it halfway through his belt so it was at his right hip. "You will not leave the training ground until you have accomplished the objective of the exercise, which is to take the bento from me. Once you have taken it, you may eat it. Until then, no food or drink of any kind." Sasuke gulped nervously. "You may use any jutsus or fighting techniques against me. The exercise begins now."

Sasuke pulled out a handful of shuriken and threw them. Nagato just moved out of the way without any apparent effort. Sasuke moved on to using kunai with wires attached, only for Nagato to expertly leap away. He used Hosenka No Jutsu, forcing Nagato to dodge several balls of fire, before racing up and attempting to snatch the bento. Not surprisingly, this tactic failed. The Uchiha began attacking relentlessly with taijutsu, but Nagato was far too fast and clever for Sasuke to succeed.

Watching from the sidelines, Naruto was confused. His uncle was showing far greater ability than he ever did during spars. He also didn't even try to hit Sasuke, preferring to dodge every single attack his friend made.

XXXXXXX

Two hours later, Naruto was flipping through his Bingo Book while his best friend continued trying to steal the bento box from his uncle. He had already gone through the whole book once, but now he was trying to memorize the abilities and weaknesses of the greatest threats.

With a yell, Sasuke launched himself at Nagato, trying to find a way through his defenses. Sweat was pouring off his body, drenching his clothes and making his hair stick to his face. His whole body was sore from over two hours of constant fighting. He had tried every single trick he knew, but nothing was working against Nagato.

_Come on! This is ridiculous! I can't even get the damn box from him!?_ Sasuke thought to himself. He was getting really angry now, even though he knew it was stupid. He just couldn't help himself, the unperturbed way Nagato dodged every one of his attacks was just utterly infuriating. He screamed again as he attacked, and everything seemed to slow down. He could see Nagato's movements as he moved his left leg backward and behind him, then shifted his weight and leaned to the side, allowing Sasuke to simply lunge right past him.

Nagato smiled as he saw what he'd been waiting for. Sasuke landed on the ground neatly, swiveling around for another attack, only to be brought up short at the sight of Nagato holding out the bento to him.

"What?" Sasuke was utterly confused. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"I'm giving you your lunch Sasuke, you succeeded."

"What are you talking about?! I didn't get it from you!" Nagato chuckled.

"That wasn't the real goal Sasuke, the whole point of this was to activate your Sharingan. I spoke to Itachi about it, and decided that I needed to force you into a situation where you were angry and desperate in order for you to activate your Sharingan. And it worked." He pulled a mirror out of his pocket and held it up so Sasuke could see his eyes; they were bright red and had two tomoe on either side of the pupil. Sasuke grinned broadly at the sight.

"That's awesome, thank you Nagato-sensei." He bowed to the man in gratitude, then grabbed the bento and ran over to his friend to show him his doujutsu, while making a mental note to do that exercise with his own kids one day.

XXXXXXX

"Naruto, given what Konan has told me of your progress with her jutsu, I am going to have to improve your chakra control. The exercise I am going to do with you is very special and difficult to master. Watch closely." He removed his short sleeved workout shirt to revel his upper torso, with multiple black piercings in it. He then took a scroll from his pocket and unsealed a large amount of senbon from it. He made a clone, then stood perfectly still with his arms spread wide apart as the clone began picking up senbon and touching the tips to the original's arms, back, and chest as the original Nagato used his chakra to cause every single senbon to stick to him. In the end, there were two hundred and fifty senbon sticking to his body, making him look like a porcupine. Naruto and Sasuke were just staring in amazement. After a moment, the senbon fell away from him, falling to the ground with a loud clatter.

"I'm supposed to do _that?_" Naruto asked.

"I don't expect you to master it for quite a while, but you can speed up the practice by using Kage Bunshins. Since you gain all of your clone's experience, you can learn things much faster than normal by using large numbers of Kage Bunshins." Naruto nodded, then made fifty clones. Nagato unrolled the scroll even more and unsealed a total of six thousand senbon from it. Twenty five clones spread their arms and stood still, while the other twenty five began touching senbon to them.

It was actually rather amusing to watch Naruto and his clones attempting to master the exercise. After a certain point, it was very difficult for him to continue focusing chakra to the appropriate part of his body, so a clone would put a senbon against him, only for it to fall to the ground. And whenever he would get frustrated, some of the senbon that were already stuck to him would fall off.

"This is going to take a long time," Nagato remarked to Sasuke.

XXXXXXX

One year later

Naruto held out his hand with the palm up and held his other hand over it, making a spherical shape with his curled fingers. Chakra began building up between his hands and spinning, forming a small sphere of chakra. Nagato grinned, then pointed at a tree. Naruto raced at it and slammed his Rasengan into it, wiping it out.

"Well done Naruto," Nagato praised him. "It's only taken you three months to master it, which is very impressive." Naruto grinned really big. "Now then, I'll get a message to Jiraiya-sensei so he can come and teach you his jutsu." A thought suddenly occurred to Naruto when he said that.

"Hey, Uncle Nagato, the old man always complains about how hard it is to contact Jiraiya, so how can you do it whenever you want?"

"Well, having the Rinnegan gives you certain advantages," Nagato admitted. It was half true; the Rinnegan allowed him to use a telepathy jutsu to contact Zetsu.

XXXXXXX

Naruto finished signing the contract with his blood.

"Okay Naruto, I'm going to twist that seal of yours a little bit to allow you access to some of the Kyuubi's chakra," Jiraiya began. "That's why we're here, where we don't have to worry if you lose control." He made a hand sign and a very unusual toad sprouted from his mouth.

"Charming," Nagato remarked. The toad appeared to have a scroll between his upper torso and his legs.

"Are you sure about this?" The toad asked Jiraiya.

"We've had this conversation already. I'm confident that Naruto can handle it." The toad shrugged and unrolled himself, revealing hundreds of complicated symbols and seals. Jiraiya beckoned Naruto over, then lifted up his shirt and placed one hand over Naruto's seal while placing his other hand over a certain symbol on the scroll.

"Get ready, kid," Jiraiya warned him. "This is probably gonna hurt." A blue glow surrounded both hands as he spoke. Naruto stood there, waiting for something to happen and thinking that Jiraiya was wrong.

"I don't think it's –" He broke off as it happened. It was as if something stabbed him in the stomach, then something very hot was spreading through his body. He yelled as his body began to heat up, making him feel as if he was burning. He fell to the ground, his body convulsing and shaking as the pain began.

Nagato was watching with his Rinnegan as what appeared to be red flames burst to life in the middle of Naruto's chakra network and spread through his body, growing bigger. The chakra started becoming visible, surrounding Naruto in a red aura. His whisker scars seemed to be thickening, and when his eyes opened as he screamed, Nagato could see they were red and the pupils were slits.

"Jiraiya, stop it!" Nagato yelled at his sensei.

"I can't! We have to wait for Naruto to get control of it!" So Nagato was forced to watch as his nephew screamed and writhed in pain. All of a sudden, the chakra aura began to thicken, starting at Naruto's stomach and spreading from there. A few minutes later, Naruto was totally surrounded in a thick shroud of red chakra. The boy's screams died down slowly until he was lying on the ground panting. His red eyes opened and he looked down at himself in confusion.

"Naruto, how do you feel?" Jiraiya asked.

"I feel like I've been trampled by all of the Inuzuka's dogs at the same time," Naruto groaned.

"Could be worse, I can't see any obvious injuries. Can you get up?" Naruto rolled over and pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. Jiraiya and Nagato raised their eyebrows when they saw a tail of red chakra attached to the shroud around Naruto. He stood up and they examined him more closely. In addition to the tail, he had fox ears, and the chakra around his hands was shaped into claws. Jiraiya reached out and tapped the cloak experimentally, finding it to be quite solid, as well as rather hot. After a minute or so, Naruto had gotten over the pain and exhaustion.

"Do you feel stronger?" Nagato inquired. Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, I feel like there's strength flowing throughout my entire body." He flexed his fingers, watching the claws move at the same time. Nagato made a clone.

"Naruto, spar with the clone," He instructed as the clone took out a Chakra Disruption Blade. Naruto nodded and they waited for Jiraiya and the original Nagato to move out of the way. Naruto made the first move, attacking with the claws instead of his fist. Nagato's clone decided it was better to dodge than to block. Unfortunately, Naruto was much faster than he expected, and he barely got the blade up in time to block the second blow. Naruto kept attacking, forcing Nagato backward. Eventually, Naruto surprised him by using his tail to hit and dispel him.

"Okay, let's try this again." Nagato made a second clone which headed forward to fight Naruto. This clone had orders to fight full out, which meant Naruto still couldn't come close to hitting him. Eventually, the clone decided to stop him. Holding out a hand, he activated his Shinra Tensei, sending Naruto flying away from him, tumbling across the ground until he crashed against a boulder. Jiraiya whistled in admiration.

"That's enough Naruto. We may have to practice fighting with the fox cloak more, to allow you to get used to using the tail and the claws, not to mention the speed. For now, hit that boulder behind you with the cloak." Naruto scowled at his teacher, then turned around, raised his right hand over his head, then swung it down full force. They were expecting him to be able to crack the boulder where he hit it.

Both their jaws dropped as the boulder was smashed to pieces upon impact, sending up a cloud of dust and gravel that temporarily obscured their view of Naruto.

Naruto turned to see both his teachers attempting – and failing – to pick their jaws up off the ground. He chuckled in amusement. Jiraiya finally managed to overcome his shock.

"Okay Naruto, now that you've gotten used to the fox's chakra, you need to try summoning. Do you remember the signs?" Naruto nodded. "Can you draw any blood while you're like that?" Naruto held up his right hand for a moment and focused, forcing the chakra to recede from his thumb. He sliced it open with the claw on his other hand, then quickly wove the signs, slapping his hand down on the ground.

"Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" He cried. A huge puff of smoke obscured him and when it cleared they were treated to the sight of two huge toads looking around in confusion.

"Hey Bunta, Ken," Jiraiya called to them.

"Why did you summon us?" Gamabunta asked irritably.

"It was Naruto, he's up there if you want to talk to him." Jiraiya pointed to Naruto, who was cheering as he looked at his two summons.

"What the heck is that?" Bunta asked. Jiraiya and Nagato leaped up to join Naruto so they wouldn't have to yell.

"That's a shroud of chakra that comes from the Kyuubi," Jiraiya explained. "I twisted the seal a little bit so that he could access the chakra, and this is what happened."

"I see. It certainly looks powerful," Bunta admitted.

"He'll probably be more graceful than me too," Ken said. "So, did you just bring us here for practice, boy?" He directed his question at Naruto, who nodded, embarrassed.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"Well don't summon us again unless you want us to do something for you, got it?" Bunta asked menacingly. Naruto nodded quickly. "Okay, we're going Gamaken." The toads vanished in two huge puffs of smoke, letting their riders fall to the ground.

"Okay Naruto, now that that's done, you need to learn how to draw up Kyuubi's chakra and repress it whenever necessary." Naruto nodded and sat down in a meditative pose, closing his eyes. After a few minutes, the chakra began to recede, eventually vanishing completely. Nagato nodded approvingly.

"Very good Naruto, now try bringing it back out."

XXXXXXX

Six months later

Naruto sighed as he was forced to endure _another_ lecture that he already knew all the answers to. He wished he could be reading his new Bingo Book instead. Shikamaru had given him an updated one at his last birthday. Hinata had given him his gift in private; she finally admitted her feelings to him, completely shocking him. His face went scarlet when she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

After that, he nearly beat the crap out of his aunt, uncle, and best friend for spying on the two of them. Nagato had been forced to use Shinra Tensei and the Naraka Path to restrain him.

He glanced over at his girlfriend to see that she was also bored, just better at hiding it than he was. Luckily, his shades hid his eyes so the teacher couldn't tell if he closed his eyes. He glanced in the other direction to see that his best friend was about as bored as he was. They were both highly accomplished shinobi-in-training at the age of twelve, and here they were being forced to listen to a history lecture. Naruto yawned loudly, ignoring the glare from Iruka-sensei, the disapproving looks of most of the class, and the exasperated looks of his friends.

Once class was done, Naruto turned to Hinata.

"Hey, Hinata-chan, do you wanna go hang out together?" He asked.

"Sure Naruto-kun. Where do you want to go?" Naruto shrugged.

"I don't really care, I'll let you pick," He smiled at her.

They ended up going to a lake and just sitting on the dock, looking at the calm water. Hinata leaned against Naruto, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned his head against hers. They were quiet for a long time as the sun dipped lower and lower in the sky.

XXXXXXX

Sasuke sighed as he looked down the hill at his best friend and Hinata. Naruto was so lucky to have a girl who really did like him, not just his name. Even after the failed coup, Ino was still his fangirl. He was actually kind of jealous to see the way Hinata hugged him and enjoyed his company.

XXXXXXX

Konan sighed happily as her paper butterflies saw the two kids by the lake. She looked up at Nagato, who was looking at her expectantly.

"He's with Hinata, I'm gonna wait a while before going to bring him back home. I'll send a message to Hiashi." She was glad that Sarutobi had been able to convince the Hyuuga clan head to allow his daughter to date Naruto. Her nephew had once stated that he didn't expect any girl to love him because of the Kyuubi, so she was overjoyed when Hinata had confessed to Naruto and kissed him.

XXXXXXX

Naruto closed his eyes and began to doze off along with Hinata. She mumbled something as she leaned against his chest and squeezed his hands. He let out a sigh of content as he pulled her closer to him. He was almost asleep when he sensed a familiar chakra signature and heard the familiar sound of his aunt's paper kunai. His eyes snapped open and he leaped to his feet, pulling Hinata with him. He turned to the source of the noise to see a figure clad all in black dodging the kunai easily. The man pulled out a katana and ran at Naruto and Hinata without a sound.

Naruto sprang into action without hesitation, using a jutsu he had learned a few months ago. Weaving the signs, he held out his hand and concentrated a sphere of wind chakra in it.

"Renkudan!" He cried as he fired it. Unfortunately, the mysterious assailant avoided it and slashed at them, forcing Naruto to grab Hinata and jump away. "Hinata-chan, run!" He yelled at her. His girlfriend shook her head.

"I can help," She started.

"Hinata-chan, I can't fight if I'm worrying about you!" She hesitated, and he continued. "I can take him, don't worry about me." She gave in and ran, calling over her shoulder,

"Be careful Naruto-kun!" He grinned and made a hand sign. He was surrounded by a cloud of smoke, and when it cleared he was surrounded by thirty shadow clones as the original took out a scroll and unrolled it, sticking the scroll in his mouth when he was done. The clones charged, taking out kunai. The black clad man was surprised when the clones were able to deflect his sword and keep coming. He leapt back and worked a quick jutsu, causing stone spikes to erupt from the ground and impale some of the clones.

The original Naruto worked a jutsu as soon as he had unsealed a ton of paper from his scroll. The hundreds of sheets of paper shot into the air and gathered at his shoulder blades, spreading and forming huge wings. He leapt into the air and flapped the wings twice, lifting himself twenty feet into the air. His attacker noticed this and glared behind his black mask. Naruto grinned as the wings spread wide, then snapped forward, sending several dozen paper kunai at the man, who easily dodged them. Naruto laughed at his short sightedness before making a hand sign and detonating the paper bombs in the kunai. The man was sent flying across the ground to crash into the lake with a huge splash. Naruto quickly made half a dozen Mizu Bunshins to grab the man as he resurfaced. He snarled in fury as the original Naruto descended.

"Disarm him," Naruto ordered his clones, who quickly relieved him of his katana and his kunai and shuriken holsters. The original Naruto landed on the lake about ten feet away from him. "Take his mask off," Naruto said. As one of them reached for his mask, the man snorted in derision. Naruto felt him suddenly gather his chakra at his chest. He had anticipated this luckily; he quickly folded the wings around himself, making a shield as he detonated the explosive notes strapped to his chest. Naruto tumbled across the lake and sank into the water, but the wings saved him from actually being hurt. He cursed as he got up and saw part of a destroyed corpse.

"Great, now we don't know who it was." He sighed as he saw that his paper wings had gotten wet and were now useless. He made some clones to gather up as much of it as they could and pump chakra into it to heat it up while he unsealed more paper from his scroll and performed the jutsu again, taking to the skies to search for Hinata. He saw her heading to his apartment, and he quickly dove down and landed near her.

"Hey, it's over Hinata-chan," He told her. "I captured him, but he blew himself up before I could take him to ANBU." She shuddered at the idea, but she quickly got over it and hugged him tightly.

"I'm so glad you're okay," She murmured as he hugged her back.

"Yeah, the guy was barely Chunin level," Naruto said with disapproval. "He probably couldn't get a Jonin to do the job for him." He glanced up when a shadow fell over them and saw his aunt flying past, headed for the lake. "Hey, Aunt Konan!" He called up to her. She looked down and saw them standing there. She quickly dove down and landed next to them as Nagato appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Are you both alright?" Konan asked immediately.

"I'm fine Aunt Konan, my clones caught the guy who attacked and he blew himself up before I could take his mask off. I made Hinata leave before the fight really started, so she didn't get hurt at all." Nagato and Konan sighed in relief.

"That's good to hear," Nagato said. "We'll have to give ANBU an explanation though." Naruto nodded; he didn't care about that at all, he was mainly just glad that Hinata was safe.

XXXXXXXX

Sasuke came over to their apartment when he heard from Itachi about the attack on Naruto.

"You were lucky the guy was so weak," Sasuke told Naruto. "If he'd been a Jonin you'd have had a hard time holding him off long enough for Nagato and Konan to get there."

"I would have managed," Naruto countered. "I mean, unless he could fly or had a really long range jutsu, it would've been no problem to avoid him with my wings."

"You mean you would have been cowardly?" Sasuke smirked as his friend got angry.

"What do you mean _cowardly_?! Waiting for backup against a stronger opponent is _not_ cowardly!" Naruto yelled at him.

"Naruto-kun, please calm down," Hinata said, taking a hold of Naruto's arm to stop him from attacking Sasuke. "He's just teasing you, you shouldn't get angry so easily." Naruto scowled when he realized she was right. Sasuke's amused grin only got him annoyed again, but this time he made himself calm down.

"Why are you my best friend again?" Naruto asked Sasuke, who just chuckled.

XXXXXXX

Six months later

Naruto came out of the testing room with a leaf headband tied around his forehead. He grinned at Sasuke, who already had one around his own forehead, and high fived his surrogate brother. He turned to his girlfriend, whose headband was hanging around her neck, and gave her a big grin and a hug, which she returned.

"So we're all Genin now!" Naruto said happily. "We're finally gonna do real ninja work!" All his friends were celebrating that same fact as they passed the test one by one and returned with a headband.

XXXXXXX

As Iruka was heading home that day, an ANBU jumped down in front of him.

"Excuse me Iruka-san, I am afraid Lord Hokage wants to speak to you in his office." Iruka could guess what this was about with no trouble at all. It happened every year after all, he should have just gone straight to the tower.

He arrived at the tower to find, as he expected, most of the clan heads waiting for him along with the Hokage. He was surprised to see Nagato, possessor of the legendary Rinnegan, and the paper controlling kunoichi Konan also there.

"Greetings Hokage-sama, clan heads, Nagato-sama, and Konan sama," Iruka said as he bowed to them all. "I hope you don't mind if I skip the pleasantries and just ask who you want your children to be teamed with." This earned him a few chuckles and nods.

"We want the Ino-Shika-Cho tradition to continue," Shikaku said.

"Of course, I will place your three children together."

"Shibi-san and I have decided that Kiba and Shino should be on a team together since their combination of close and long range fighting styles will work well together, not to mention they'll be good at tracking," Inuzuka Tsume told him.

"Makes sense, any preference as to who their third member is?" Iruka asked the Inuzuka matriatch. She frowned.

"We had wanted Hyuga Hinata, but Hiashi-san has other ideas."

"Yes, I want Hinata to be on a team with Uzumaki Naruto. The two of them work very well together, and ever since she made friends with him I've found that she's become much more confident and determined," Hiashi explained.

"To add to that," Nagato spoke up. "Konan and I wish to request that Uchiha Sasuke is on the same team as Naruto, since Naruto was his first real friend and they help spur each other on to do better." Iruka nodded.

"Very well, I'll make sure that's all taken care of," he assured them.


	4. The Genin Test

Sasuke hadn't slept over, so he met Naruto at the academy the next day. Their group was chatting nervously about who they would be teamed up with.

"I really hope we can be on the same team," Naruto said as he gripped Hinata's hand nervously.

"M-me too, Naruto-kun," Hinata rarely stuttered anymore unless she was under a lot of pressure or else very nervous.

"If you want me to, I could calculate the odds based on our individual abilities and make a fairly accurate guess about who would be teamed up with who," Shino offered. Naruto considered it, then shook his head.

"No thanks, I'm afraid it'll just get me depressed." Sasuke chuckled.

"I asked Itachi nii-san if he knows anything about it, and he said not to worry," He told them all.

"He's an ANBU, what would he know about the academy?" Kiba asked. Sasuke shrugged.

"That's true, but I trust him enough to not worry about the teams." At that moment Iruka and Mizuki walked into the room.

"Okay everyone, I have team assignments, so settle down," Iruka announced. Everyone quickly quieted down and faced him. Naruto adjusted his shades nervously as Iruka began listing teams. He got more and more hopeful every time a team was announced and none of his friends' names were in it. Then finally…

"Team seven will be Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Hinata, and Uchiha Sasuke. Your Jonin sensei will be Uchiha Itachi."

"YATAH!" Naruto exclaimed exuberantly as he pumped a fist into the air. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief before smiling.

"That jerk didn't tell me he'd be my sensei," Sasuke grumbled.

"Team eight will be Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Haruno Sakura. Your Jonin sensei will be Yuhi Kurenai."

"Hey, not bad!" Kiba said happily. Shino nodded and leaned back in his seat, comfortable with the fact that he would be with two of his friends, even though he never associated very much with Sakura. She was just too _loud_ for his taste. Hopefully she would change.

"Team nine is still in action from last year. Team ten will be Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, and Yamanaka Ino. Your Jonin sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the news before setting his head back down on the table.

"Wake up, you lazy jerk!" Ino snapped at him. Choji sighed as he watched one of his two oldest friends start beating up the other one.

"That's all, you have an hour long break before you need to be back here to meet with your team leader," Iruka announced. Most of the class began leaving the room to go eat lunch. The new teams seven, eight, and ten were talking excitedly – except for Shikamaru – as they went.

XXXXXXX

An hour later, the members of team seven returned to the classroom along with team eight. Several of the Jonin were already there, waiting for their teams. One of them was a man dressed all in black, and with a standard ANBU sword strapped to his back. He stood up as they walked in.

"Hey, nii-san," Sasuke greeted him.

"Hello, Itachi-sensei," Naruto said, bowing to him. Hinata followed his example.

"Hello," He greeted them calmly. "Follow me," He ordered as he left the room. They followed him, staying about five feet behind him the whole time.

"Don't worry," Sasuke whispered to the other two. "Itachi's always like this, he doesn't ever act like he has any emotion." Naruto and Hinata both nodded in understanding; Nagato and Hinata's father, Hiashi, acted the same way sometimes.

Itachi led them to an open place outside before they all sat down, facing him.

"I'd like us to start off by introducing ourselves and saying some things about us. I know that the three of you are good friends, but I don't know any of you except Sasuke."

"Can you go first?" Naruto asked him. "So we know what to say?" Itachi nodded.

"I am Uchiha Itachi, I like pocky and I dislike those who are arrogant and who foolishly overestimate their own abilities. My hobby is reading, and my dream is to restore the reputation of the Uchiha clan. Now then, let's start from the right," He pointed at Naruto.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like learning new jutsus, eating ramen, and hanging out with Hinata-chan." He grinned at his girlfriend who blushed lightly. "I dislike people who judge others without getting to know them. My hobbies are reading the Bingo Book and eating ramen, and my dream is to be the greatest Hokage ever." Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"Why not just be the next Hokage? Why do you wish to be the best?"

"Because, by being the best I can prove that I really am the hero that the Yondaime wanted me to be. I can protect this village better than anyone else ever has, and if I'm lucky then they'll stop thinking of me as the Kyuubi." Itachi nodded thoughtfully before pointing to Hinata.

"Your turn," He told her.

"Hai, sensei. I am Hyuga Hinata, I like spending time with Naruto-kun and his aunt Konan, and playing with animals. I dislike people that are hateful to those I care about. My dream is to earn my father's respect and to marry Naruto-kun one day." Sasuke laughed at his friend's surprised and _very_ nervous look, and Itachi had to suppress an amused grin.

"Your turn, Sasuke," Itachi told him.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke, I like training with Naruto and his uncle, and green tea. I dislike sweets and people who call me a traitor. My only real hobby is imagining what it would be like to not have fangirls." Naruto and Hinata laughed and Itachi was unable to help himself from grinning, he did the exact same thing sometimes. "My dream is the same as nii-san's, to restore the reputation and the honor of the Uchiha clan."

"You two really are brothers, aren't you?" Naruto asked. Sasuke shrugged as Itachi merely nodded once.

"Very well, now that we all know each other we can get down to business. Tomorrow we will have our first team exercise."

"What will it be sensei?" Hinata asked.

"It will be a survival exercise." He paused for a moment. "Against me." The three of them gulped nervously. "I won't give you the details until tomorrow morning. Meet me at training ground seven at eight a.m. Oh, and don't have breakfast, you'll be throwing it all up during the exercise." They gulped again. Itachi stood up and walked away. "I'll see you tomorrow," He called back to them over his shoulder.

"Wow, he really is freakin' scary," Naruto commented to Sasuke. His brother nodded.

"We're gonna have a really hard time tomorrow with nii-san as our sensei. Do you guys want to go over strategies tonight so we'll be prepared?" Sasuke asked them.

"That sounds like a good idea," Hinata said.

"Sure, we can all go over to my apartment, I'm sure Aunt Konan won't mind making some snacks for us while we work."

So team seven spent the night at Nagato and Konan's apartment, going over plans for what they could do against Itachi. Unfortunately, all they knew was that he had the Sharingan and used fire jutsus. Also, Sasuke's Sharingan wasn't anywhere near the level of Itachi's, so they had no idea how powerful their sensei's eyes were.

"That doesn't mean we have no chance though," Naruto tried to encourage them after Sasuke pointed that out. "I mean, it's three against one, and I can make a lot of clones."

"Sharingan sees through clones, dobe. He'll know which one is the real you."

"Doesn't mean the clones can't hurt him," Naruto countered. "And you and I both know the Rasengan, which is a good head on attack, plus Hinata-chan has Jyuken, which means he'll have to avoid her for sure. C'mon, we've got plenty of advantages if we all work together!" His two friends nodded their agreement and they got back to planning.

XXXXXXX

They arrived at training ground seven ten minutes before eight the next morning. They sat down by three wooden stumps and waited. At exactly eight o clock, Itachi's voice rang out behind them without warning.

"Good morning," He greeted them. All three Genin jumped and whipped around to see him standing right behind them.

"How did you do that?" Naruto asked in amazement.

"I used stealth techniques that all ANBU know," Itachi answered. "Now then, I won't waste time with the test." He reached into his pocket and took out a small alarm clock which he placed on the middle stump. "That is set to go off in two hours, at that time, those of you who have not yet completed the test will be sent back to the academy."

"What!?" Naruto yelled. "What do you mean sent back to the academy? Why!?"

"All ten of the Genin squads that were formed yesterday are being given a test today. The exact test varies depending on the teacher. However, the tests all have a sixty six percent rate failure, which means that only three teams will actually become official Genin squads."

"But what about the Genin test we had?" Sasuke asked.

"That was done to eliminate the hopeless cases. The ones who are left have at least some chance of passing the test. The teams who fail will be sent back to the academy for remedial training. Now then, I will explain the test." He made a hand sign and three Kage Bunshins appeared in puffs of smoke. "Each of you will be taken to a different part of the training ground by one of these Kage Bunshins. You will then fight them. At the end of two hours, those of you who have defeated your Kage Bunshin will pass the test."

"Itachi-sensei, we're supposed to fight them alone?" Hinata asked. "But we're supposed to be a team, we do much better if we work together."

"In a real life situation you will not always have that luxury," Itachi answered calmly. "At times you will be able to work together, at times you must fight on your own. If I were you, I wouldn't waste any more time asking questions, the clock is already ticking." The three members of team seven all gulped nervously as they looked at each other.

"This isn't fair, nii-san," Sasuke protested. "You're an ANBU, there's no way we can beat you one on one!"

"Kage Bunshins are not as powerful as their original," Itachi replied calmly. "You only need to hit them once to dispel them. Besides, life isn't always fair." Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata exchanged glum looks as they were led away by Itachi's clones. Once they were gone, the original Itachi sat down on another one of the stumps and pulled out a stick of chocolate pocky, which he began munching on. _Well, we'll see if they figure it out in time._ He thought to himself.

XXXXXXX

Naruto was led to a large clearing in the middle of the forest. He and the Kage Bunshin took positions facing each other. Naruto made the first move, pulling out his scroll and unsealing a mass of paper from it. He made a few hand signs and cast his jutsu.

"Ronbun Shuriken Renda!" (Paper Shuriken Barrage) He cried. Each piece of paper folded itself into the shape of a shuriken and then launched itself at Itachi, spinning furiously.

"Gokakyu No Jutsu," Itachi said calmly. A huge fireball erupted from his mouth, heading straight for Naruto. The blond ninja barely got out of the way in time, and when he turned back he saw that all of his paper shuriken had been burned to ashes. Even worse, that fireball had been at _least_ twice as big as one of Sasuke's, and Itachi wasn't even winded, despite the fact that it only had a fourth of the original's chakra. Naruto started getting a very sick feeling in his stomach.

XXXXXXX

About forty minutes later, Naruto was lying flat on his back on the ground, completely winded. Itachi's Kage Bunshin was standing a short distance away, barely breathing hard. It had somehow evaded every one of Naruto's attacks, and also managed to completely defeat the boy. Every one of Naruto's clones had been destroyed with a single hit, and all of his Fuuton attacks were nearly worthless since Itachi – unlike most people – could see and avoid them. He'd tried catching Itachi by surprise with his one and only Doton jutsu, but that had also failed. Naruto pushed himself to his feet and wiped the sweat off his forehead. _Come on!_ He screamed at himself mentally. _This is so pathetic!_

"I am rather disappointed," 'Itachi' said. Naruto glared at him angrily behind his shades.

"Why do you say that?" He spat angrily.

"Nagato-san always speaks very highly of you, I had expected you to be much more intelligent than this."

_What does he mean intelligent? I'm just not strong enough._ Naruto thought. _It doesn't matter how intelligent I am if I'm just not good enough to hit him. He's faster, has a wider range of jutsus, and has the Sharingan. And I'm the strongest one of the three of us, so Sasuke and Hinata-chan probably haven't succeeded either._ He decided to try a new tactic, since nothing else had worked. Without any warning, he leaped into the trees and thick foliage and started moving quickly but quietly, attempting to get in a position where he could launch a really good surprise attack at his sensei.

"That won't work, Naruto-kun," Itachi's calm voice rang out. "You have some ability with stealth, but you are not even attempting to hide your chakra signature. Anyone with some training in the arts of stealth and assassination can locate people simply by sensing their chakra." Before Naruto could react, Itachi threw three shuriken at him. Naruto barely got out of the way, getting a small cut on his cheek from one of them as he dodged. Itachi followed up with a fast and relentless assault of kunai and shuriken, forcing Naruto to constantly duck and dodge. A few moments later he ducked behind a tree and stayed there, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath.

_Great, that just failed miserably. _He growled and slammed a fist against the tree. He was sure he'd be able to win this fight if he could use his fox cloak, but Nagato had warned him that morning that using the fox cloak was against the rules. The only other thing he could think of that would allow him to win would be to work with his teammates against the clones, but that was also against the rules. _Wait a minute, is it?_ He thought back to what Itachi had said at the beginning of the test. _He never actually said we can't work together, just that we would be taken to different parts of the training ground for the test. And that we don't _always_ have the luxury of working together. Yeah, that's it!_ With a broad grin he leaped away from the clearing he had been in, heading away from his opponent as fast as he could.

Itachi's Kage Bunshin grinned as he felt Naruto's chakra signature leaving. _He figured it out, now we'll see if they can take care of it in only seventy five minutes._

XXXXXXX

Sasuke wasn't faring any better than Naruto had been against his own opponent. He only had eight fire jutsus, and Itachi could easily evade or block them all, almost without effort. He had tried fighting hand to hand with his older brother's clone, but he stood zero chance against Itachi.

_I always knew nii-san was good, but I never even imagined he was _this_ powerful!_ Sasuke would have been ready to call it quits, except that he was never one to quit.

All of a sudden, Itachi spun around, facing the trees to his left, just before leaping high into the air to avoid an attack from a large white snake that was made out of paper. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as he recognized Naruto's Ronbun Hebi technique. The snake twisted around and swung it's tail up to try to hit Itachi. Their sensei pulled out his sword and used it to block the strike. "Now, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he leaped out of the trees. Sasuke nodded as he wove a few hand signs and took a deep breath.

"Katon! Gokakyu No Jutsu!" He breathed out a fireball that was about as big as he was, aimed straight for Itachi. He thought for sure that it would hit, just before Itachi used the same jutsu, causing their attacks to cancel each other out. Itachi twisted as he fell to land on his feet.

"Ronbun Shuriken Renda!" Naruto cried. Itachi had no time to use another fire jutsu as the hundred-some-odd paper shurikens assaulted him. He had to rely on his Sharingan to find the gaps between the weapons that he could slide into to avoid getting hit. He allowed himself a small grin as he began dodging. "Katsu!" Naruto yelled. Itachi's Kage Bunshin barely had time to think: "Aw, crap!" Before about half of the paper shurikens blew up and dispelled him.

XXXXXXX

Itachi grinned as he got the memories from his Kage Bunshin.

_Well, this means Sasuke passes. Not bad, Naruto, but you still have two more to take care of, and one of them already knows that you three will start teaming up. Only fifty minutes left. If it takes you twenty five minutes for each of them, you'll barely finish it in time._

XXXXXXX

"Naruto, what are you doing here? This is against the rules," Sasuke told him. Naruto shook his head confidently.

"No, it's not. All Itachi-sensei said was that we would be led to different spots to fight. He never specifically said that we can't work together, and he's way too strong for us to beat him anyway. We _have_ to work together, there's no other choice." Sasuke thought about it for a few moments.

"You're right, I guess. Okay, let's go find Hinata. We can surprise her Kage Bunshin the same way you surprised mine." Naruto nodded his agreement and the two of them sped away.

XXXXXXX

Like her teammates, Hinata had not been doing very well. Her part of all their strategies had always been to use her Jyuken to force Itachi into Naruto's and Sasuke's attacks. Without their assistance, she was forced to try to use her Jyuken and the three Suiton jutsus that Nagato had taught her to try to hit him. Unfortunately, that was _much_ easier said than done. Itachi was just so fast and talented that it was practically impossible to hit him. Scratch that, it _was_ impossible to hit him. She was currently taking a break and trying to catch her breath.

"I had hoped the three of you would do better," Itachi said. "I really did think you would be able to succeed where all the other teams I've tested failed." Hinata frowned as she looked down at the ground.

"I'm trying as hard as I can, but you're just too strong," She tried hard to not sound whiny.

"I don't doubt that you're doing your best, but you haven't tried everything. There is something you can do that would give you a much higher chance of passing, you just haven't realized it yet." As she stood there, thinking it over, the Kage Bunshin casually withdrew a stick of pocky from… somewhere, and started munching on it. Hinata glared at the biscuit stick as if it had insulted her. Itachi smirked mentally as he watched her Hyuga composition beginning to crumple.

He was lifting his snack back up to his mouth when he felt a chakra signature behind him. He spun around to see Sasuke charge out of the trees and throw a pair of kunai at him as Naruto leaped up into the air, climbing higher and higher with the use of his paper wings. Itachi dodged Sasuke's attack and was forced to continue dodging as his little brother did a surprisingly good job of aiming his kunai at the exact spot where Itachi was likely to dodge, forcing him to move quickly and almost desperately to avoid getting hit. At the same time, Naruto began weaving signs.

"Fuuton! Renkudan!" He held out his hands and fired three spheres of wind chakra at Itachi, who barely managed to avoid them. Naruto's wings spread wide and he fired off several dozen paper kunai at Itachi, who jumped away from them. Sasuke began weaving hand signs at the same time. "Hinata-chan!" Naruto called to his girlfriend. "Help us out!" The Hyuga heiress nodded and ran forward.

"Katon!" Sasuke called out as he jumped into the air. "Hoenka No Jutsu!" He opened his mouth and exhaled three large fireballs that shot at Itachi. As his brother dodged, Hinata followed up with her own attack.

"Suiton! Mizurappa!" A violent blast of water erupted from her mouth at Itachi.

"Suiton: Suijinheki," Itachi said calmly as his hands moved at a nearly unimaginable speed while he performed signs. The water from Hinata's attack shuddered, then was pulled out of Hinata's control and made a circular wall around Itachi, which helped him by blocking the kunai that Sasuke threw. _I guess I have to get a little more aggressive_. Itachi thought. "Suiton: Suihachi." He held his hands out toward Naruto and Sasuke and fired a jet of water at each of them. Sasuke dodged it a bit more gracefully than Naruto, who had to desperately flap his wings as he maneuvered in midair. Hinata ran at him quickly as the wall of water fell to the ground. Itachi quickly spun around as she launched a Jyuken attack at him. With apparent ease, he caught her wrist as she tried to hit his chest and flipped her over his shoulder, making her fall heavily on the ground behind him. He leaped away as Sasuke attacked with another bunch of kunai.

"I see you have figured it out," Itachi said. "I congratulate you, you're the only team out of the four I've tested to realize that you're supposed to 'break the rules' and work together."

"Well thanks," Naruto replied with a grin. "We'll also be the only one to pass your test."

"I would work on being less arrogant, Naruto-kun. Did you forget that I don't like those who overestimate themselves?"

"I'm not overestimating myself," Naruto called down to him as he floated in the air with his wings. "I'm just confident that the three of us together can land a good hit on you." With that said, he wove a long – but quick – string of hand signs. His paper wings immediately fell apart and Naruto fell to the ground. "Ronbun Shuriken Shikou Renda!" (Supreme Paper Shuriken Barrage) Each and every single one of the approximately eight hundred sheets of paper hanging in the air folded itself into a shuriken and then attacked Itachi in a huge wave. Sasuke's Sharingan eyes tracked his brother as he ran out of the way of Naruto's incredible attack.

"Katon! Hosenka No Jutsu!" Sasuke breathed out several dozen small fireballs at his brother, forcing him to continue dodging.

"Ronbun Hebi No Jutsu!" Itachi's head whipped around as the paper shuriken from Naruto's last attack unfolded and coalesced into a serpent. The creature attacked Itachi quickly.

"Katon." Itachi announced as it drew close. He held his hand out and sent a small but intense blast of fire out of the palm, burning the snake to ashes. At the same time, Naruto unleashed another jutsu.

"Fuuton! Daitoppa!" A blast of wind erupted outward from Naruto, blowing away the clone before it had the chance to dodge. "Yeah! Got him!"

"Yeah, you got me too, dobe!" Sasuke snapped at him as he pushed himself up off the ground. Naruto scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.

"Um, sorry 'bout that."

"So, we're actually supposed to work together?" Hinata asked just to clarify. Naruto and Sasuke both nodded.

"Yeah, nii-san was really tricky about it though," Sasuke groused.

"We've only got one more to take care of," Naruto said happily. "And now that all three of us can work together, we'll have no trouble taking care of it!"

"Except for the fact that we're starting to run out of chakra," Sasuke reminded him.

"Sasuke's right," Hinata added. "We should take a few minutes to rest instead of rushing straight from one battle into another one." Naruto's frown showed clearly what he thought of that plan, but seeing that both of his teammates were already sitting down, he decided to go along with them. "While we're waiting, why don't we go over our plan for the last one?" Hinata suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Sasuke agreed. Naruto nodded and took a few pieces of paper so they could draw out a battle plan.

XXXXXXX

Itachi checked the clock as he received another clone's memories. _Nagato-san was right, Naruto-kun is very good with paper and wind jutsus. He also seems to be mainly a long range fighter, though you could count his clones as a close range attack. With those abilities, in addition to Hinata-kun's close range Jyuken and otouto's mid range fire jutsus and kunai-slash-shuriken abilities, this team will be truly spectacular. I'll pass them all even if they don't destroy the last Kage Bunshin, but I want to see how they do when all three of them are together and prepared. After all, the last two times one of them was surprised and wasn't able to help out very much._

XXXXXXX

Hinata made a hand sign as she focused. "Byakugan," she muttered. She quickly searched the area for two miles. "Found him. He's still in the clearing, Naruto-kun." Her boyfriend grinned.

"Okay, let's go." The three of them sped forward to their final opponent.

XXXXXXX

The last Kage Bunshin was standing in the middle of the clearing, waiting patiently for them. He turned as he sensed Naruto's chakra signature, then hesitated when he sensed Sasuke's and Hinata's coming from two completely different directions. He leaped into the trees, away from all three of them, but Naruto wasn't about to let him get away without a fight.

"Fuuton! Daitoppa!" He unleashed his powerful wind jutsu again, forcing the clone to leap well out of the way.

Unfortunately for the clone, he was headed straight for Sasuke.

"Katon! Gokakyu No Jutsu!" Itachi made a one handed tiger sign and fired his own fireball to cancel out Sasuke's.

"Suiton: Mizurappa!" Hinata announced just before shooting a blast of water at him, which he easily jumped away from.

"Ronbun Oushi No Jutsu!" Naruto's jutsu created a human sized bull that charged Itachi, lowering it's head to impale him.

"Katon: Hosenka No Jutsu." Itachi fired some small fireballs out of his mouth, burning up the bull and forcing his students to jump out of the way. As he ended his jutsu, he heard the familiar sound of shurikens flying through the air. He spun around just in time to be able to dodge the shuriken that Sasuke was throwing at him. As they started flying past him, he saw light glinting off of something, and when he looked a little closer he realized that the shuriken had wire strung through the centers to try and catch him. He whipped out his sword and put some chakra into it, allowing him to slice through the wires with ease.

"Suiton: Teppodama No Jutsu!" She concentrated water from the open canteen she was wearing into three spheres floating in her palm, which she shot at Itachi. To her shock, he sliced through all three water bullets with his sword, causing them to fall apart. He suddenly got a bad feeling in his stomach. He turned around to see that Naruto and Sasuke were standing side by side, weaving signs. He jumped away, hoping to throw off their aim.

No such luck.

"Katon! Gokakyu No Jutsu!"

"Fuuton! Renkudan!" Naruto's air bullets hit Sasuke's fireball, making it bigger and faster. Itachi nimbly avoided it, but Naruto wasn't done just yet. "Doton! Doryuso!" Four stone spikes rose out of the ground, aimed at Itachi. He twisted in midair, trying to avoid them, but his right arm hit one as he fell. Had it been the original Itachi, his arm would have been lightly cut, and he would have gotten back up to keep fighting. As it was, the Kage Bunshin exploded into a cloud of white smoke.

"Yatah!" Naruto cheered. "We got him!" Sasuke and Hinata both grinned happily before falling to the ground. "Hey, what's.. oh, chakra exhaustion," He realized. "Great, now sensei and I have to drag you two home."

"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke managed to have enough chakra to get irritated at his friend. Itachi appeared all of a sudden, grinning ever so slightly.

"Well done, you have all passed. As you have guessed, this test was set up to force you to look underneath the underneath, and do so in a difficult situation. It was also designed to illustrate an important fact: No matter how good you are," His eyes lingered on Naruto for a moment, "you are much stronger as part of a team. There is something called synergy, which is the extra power that comes from working as a team. You three have good coordination and you're also good at using jutsus to strike at the most opportune time. You clearly understand the concept of working together and trusting one another. I am proud to have you as my first team." His voice was as emotionless as ever, but he was still wearing that small grin that told his students he was pleased with them.

"Thanks, Itachi-sensei!" Naruto saluted him.


	5. The C rank mission

"This is Fox, I'm in position," Naruto whispered into his headset.

"Mirror Flame, I'm in position as well," Sasuke confirmed.

"White Girl, I'm in position," Hinata said.

"Good. This is Lethal Shadow. Engage the target, now," Itachi ordered them.

"Gotcha. Ronbun Hebi No Jutsu!" A small cat turned to the sound of the voice and saw a huge white serpent barreling toward it. It yowled as it ran away. Up ahead, it saw two humans, a boy and a girl. The girl was holding her arms out invitingly to it. It immediately jumped into the girl's arms. Glancing over it's shoulder, it saw the white monster falling apart, revealing a black clad boy trotting forward.

"Why do you insist on using jutsus for the smallest things?" Sasuke asked his friend.

"Because these chores are so boring I need to put a little excitement into it," Naruto explained, for the fourth time that week. Itachi appeared next to them. Like always, he didn't use Shunshin, he was just there without any warning.

"Good, Tora has been caught. Let's return her." The three Genin followed their sensei obediently, with Hinata still holding the cat.

XXXXXXX

Somehow Itachi managed to watch the Fire Daimyo's wife half crushing her cat without even blinking. Naruto and Sasuke were grimacing and Hinata gave the cat a sympathetic look.

"Well, team seven seems to be doing very well," the Hokage stated. "We have several new missions for you to choose from."

"Actually, Hokage-sama," Itachi interrupted. "I believe my team is ready for a C-rank mission." Everyone looked at him in surprise. Since they'd passed his test, team seven had done over twenty D-rank missions. He had been training them primarily in stealth techniques. He had also been doing private training with Sasuke on fire jutsus and the Sharingan, leaving Naruto and Hinata's private training to Nagato and Hiashi. However, the most praise he'd given them was "good" whenever they'd completed a mission. They hadn't expected to move on to C-rank missions for another few months.

"Really? It is rather unusual for a rookie team to move on to C-rank missions after only three months," The Hokage commented.

"That is true, but my team is rather unusual," Itachi replied, with only the barest hint of a smile. "They are all quite accomplished in taijutsu, though Hinata is the best. They have a wide range of ninjutsu, decent stealth abilities for a three-month old squad, and they also have a great deal of determination and motivation to do well."

"Well, I do have a rather easy C-rank mission available." Sarutobi turned to a door set into the wall of the room. "Yugito, come out please," He called. The door opened and a girl about their age stepped out. She had a headband from Kumogakure around her forehead. She frowned as she looked at them.

"Are you serious, Hokage-sama? These kids? Even the teacher doesn't look that old." Itachi immediately grabbed Naruto and Sasuke by the back of their jackets, yanking them to a halt as they attempted to leap at the girl.

"Do not attack the client," He ordered them. He turned his attention back to the girl. "Age means nothing to a true shinobi," Itachi told her. "I was an ANBU captain at the age of thirteen, if I were you I would be glad to receive a shinobi of my level for a bodyguard." Yugito raised an eyebrow as she noticed that Itachi's eyes were red and had three tomoe arranged in a circular pattern around the pupil.

"All right, I'll have to make do I guess," she sighed. Itachi frowned, then turned back to the Hokage.

"What is our mission objective?" He asked him. Sarutobi chuckled mentally as he recognized the nonverbal message Itachi was sending: he already did not like their client.

"This is Nii Yugito, a kunoichi from Kumogakure. She was sent here due to an alliance between our village and Kumo. As a proof of trust in each other, each village has copied several ninjutsu scrolls to share with each other. Yugito delivered the scrolls from Kumo to us, and now she is to return and deliver our scrolls to her village. However, on her way here, she was attacked by a pair of shinobi who were trying to steal the scrolls. She killed them, but now Kumo has asked to hire a four man team to help escort Yugito to Kumo, in order to protect the scrolls. The shinobi who attacked were only Chunin level, so I believe that the five of you will easily complete this mission."

"Very well," Itachi said calmly. He turned to his students. "You must each pack for a week long travel. You will need rations, water, equipment, and anything else that you deem necessary for a trip. We'll be going up into the mountains, so you need thick clothing and boots. Do you understand?" He asked them monotonously.

"Hai," They all answered.

"When do we leave?" Itachi inquired, turning back to the Hokage. Sarutobi turned to Yugito and raised an eyebrow.

"As soon as possible," she directed her answer at Itachi. "The sooner we leave, the sooner Raikage will have his scrolls and the less time our opponents will have to prepare."

"As soon as you've packed, go to the gate," Itachi told his students. The four Konoha-nin turned and walked out of the room. Yugito followed them out of the building, then headed to the gate.

XXXXXXX

Sasuke frowned as he looked at his older brother as the two of them walked to the Uchiha compound together.

"Why do you seem upset, nii-san?" he asked. Itachi looked a little surprised for a moment, but then his face smoothed out.

"I must be slipping for you to notice that," He replied calmly.

"Not really, but you're my brother, and I know how to tell when you're upset about something," Sasuke said.

Itachi smiled slightly, then said, "I don't like Yugito."

"Yeah, she's pretty irritating," Sasuke agreed. "But she's also pretty good looking."

"You must be careful not to let something like that cloud your judgment," Itachi warned him. "I do not entirely trust Kumo, and neither should you. You need to pass the message on to Naruto and Hinata as soon as possible."

"You think they might try to betray us?" Sasuke asked.

"It is a possibility."

XXXXXXX

"Hey, Uncle Nagato, Aunt Konan, we've got a C rank mission!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he entered the apartment. "We have to escort this kunoichi called Yugito to Kumogakure so she can deliver some scrolls to the Raikage."

"What did you say her name is?" Deva Path asked sharply as he turned to look at his nephew.

"Yugito, why?"

"Is her full name Nii Yugito?" Nagato inquired.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Naruto asked.

"Before we met you, Konan-chan and I had a plan that required the nine Bijuu. One of those, of course, is the Kyuubi. Another one is the Niibi, and that one is sealed inside Yugito."

"You're kidding! She's a demon container too?" Naruto was floored.

"The proper term is Jinchuriki, and yes. Be careful around her Naruto. You have had a very unusual life for a Jinchuriki. More often, they are trained from a very young age to become the perfect shinobi, and they have little understanding of a normal person."

"Okay, I'll keep it in mind," Naruto promised him. _And I'll let Hinata-chan and Sasuke know too_.

XXXXXXX

Naruto was the last to arrive at the gate, and his teammates noticed his inquisitive look at Yugito as he walked up to them. Hinata immediately began to worry that he was interested in the foreign kunoichi. Yugito herself was too impatient to notice anything out of the ordinary.

"All right, let's go already," she announced as she began walking out of the gate. Itachi frowned very slightly, then strode forward at a slightly faster pace than normal, quickly overtaking the kunoichi.

"We'll take a diamond formation," he announced. "I'll take point. Naruto and Yugito, you're both powerhouse types, so you'll take the sides. Hinata, you take the rear and use your Byakugan periodically to keep watch. Sasuke, you take center, and be prepared to follow up our initial attacks with a secondary attack. Understood?" Three of them nodded, and the fourth scowled and shrugged half heartedly. Itachi's frown deepened, then he began to lead the way. His students fell into position and Yugito grudgingly took up the place on Sasuke's left.

One thought was going through the minds of Itachi and all three of his students: _This is going to be a long mission._

XXXXXXX

By the time they stopped to set up camp, all four of the leaf ninjas were just about ready to strangle Yugito, although it wasn't easy to tell with Itachi. Every single command from Itachi or attempt to start a conversation from Naruto, Hinata, or Sasuke was met with sullen annoyance or irritation from Yugito. She seemed resentful that Itachi was leading them and giving her orders, and she was also unwilling to treat the Genin with even the slightest bit of courtesy. As soon as they stopped, Itachi ordered Yugito to find water and fill all the canteens while his team set up camp.

"Thanks for making her leave for a while, sensei," Naruto said gratefully once Yugito was gone.

"It's my pleasure, Naruto-kun," Itachi replied. "Now then, Sasuke, Hinata, why don't I show you how to unseal items from scrolls? It's a very useful technique." He pulled out a scroll from his bag and demonstrated the hand sign sequence to unseal the tents and poles from it. He had them practice, then try it themselves. By the time Yugito came back with full canteens, three tents had been erected.

"You know, we only need two," Yugito told Itachi.

"One is for me, one is for you and Hinata, and the third is for Naruto and Sasuke," Itachi explained.

"Oh really? And how come you get your own tent all for yourself?" Yugito demanded. Itachi stood up from the rock he'd been using as a chair and stood at his full height, looking down at the kunoichi.

"Because I am a Jonin and ANBU captain of Konohagakure, and am far above any of you in terms of power and ability. I have seen war and have killed dozens in service to my village and country. If I wanted to, I could kill all four of you right now. You should be glad I was willing to pack the extra tent so that you could have more privacy, instead of just making all four of you share one tent. You, Nii Yugito, have paid money to escort you back to your village. You have only paid for a C rank mission, you have no right to attempt to order me around or question my decisions. Do you understand?"

Yugito was quite stunned. In Kumogakure, she was feared and, for the most part, respected by almost all of the shinobi in the village. Only the Raikage and his annoying little brother treated her differently, and she was used to that by now. She didn't know how to react to Itachi's speech, especially since she didn't feel she had done anything to deserve having so much anger directed at her. She just treated him like she treated pretty much everyone in Kumo. She stammered out a quick apology – something she'd never done for anyone other than the Raikage – then turned and fled the campsite.

Itachi sighed and sat back down. _If I was one of those people who show their emotions more often, my students would be hearing quite a few new words today._

XXXXXXX

Yugito went back to the spring she'd found earlier and stopped. She sat down and tried to meditate, but the memory of Itachi's face and his angry gray eyes kept coming back to her, breaking through her calmness. She had felt something very unusual when he spoke to her: fear. It had been quite a while since she had felt genuine fear. Oh, she felt a little twinge of nervousness or anxiety every now and then, but fear? Never, until now. She stopped trying to meditate and instead did something that went against all her training: she broke down and cried. After all, some part of her mind reasoned, this was something she'd never been trained to handle, so why should she keep sticking to the rules? Her sobs quieted down slowly, until she was just sitting there, with her eyes and face all red and puffy.

She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around, lifting her arm to knock aside the offending hand, and saw Sasuke standing there.

"What do you want?" She tried to sound angry, but she just sounded weak and sad.

"Dinner's ready, I came to find you and let you know," he answered calmly. "Nii-san said even Jinchuriki need to eat regularly," Her head snapped up in surprise; Raikage hadn't informed Konoha of her status as a Jinchuriki.

"How do you know about that?" she asked.

"Naruto's uncle told him," Sasuke answered. "No idea how he found out." She then registered the other thing he'd obliquely stated.

"Itachi is your older brother?" She asked him. He nodded. She swallowed, then stood up, wiping her eyes.

"Why were you crying?" He asked, and she was a little surprised when she realized that she didn't recognize the emotion in his voice.

"Why do you want to know?" She replied with a little bit of anger. Sasuke's eyes hardened.

"Because I was a little concerned about you, for some odd reason, but I guess I won't bother if I'm just annoying you," he snapped at her, before turning and walking away.

_Great, I managed to anger an ANBU and his little brother in the same day!_ Yugito raged at herself mentally.

XXXXXXX

Dinner was an awkward affair as soon as Yugito returned. Itachi pointed to the pot of beef stew that hung over a small fire, then everyone remained quiet while they ate. The entire forest had become quiet, leaving them with no noise other than the scrape of their chopsticks against their bowls and the slurping sound of Naruto drinking the broth from his special ramen bowl.

As soon as they had all finished, Itachi spoke up.

"We will have to arrange a nightly watch. We'll sleep for six hours, so the four of you will each take an hour long watch and I will take two hours, at the start and the end. Naruto will follow me, then Hinata, then Sasuke, and lastly Yugito. When your watch is over, wake up the next person. Understand?" The four of them nodded, and he was pleased to note that Yugito didn't act angry like she had been.

The boys and the girls each got into their tents while Itachi stayed outside to take the first watch. Naruto and Sasuke just got into their sleeping bags while still wearing all their equipment.

"Hey, what happened between you and Yugito?" Naruto whispered to his best friend.

"She acted angry with me when all I did was ask why she'd been crying," Sasuke said quietly but angrily.

"She's not like any of us, not even like me in terms of social skills," Naruto reminded him. "We don't really know what kind of upbringing she's had."

"It's still annoying," Sasuke snapped. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Look, let's just get some rest, okay?"

"Sure," Naruto said amicably. The two of them lay down and tried to fall asleep quickly, so they'd have some rest before their time to keep watch came.

Shortly after that, they overheard a quiet conversation coming from the other tent.

XXXXXXX

When Hinata and Yugito had gotten into their tent, the hostility coming from Hinata was practically visible. The two kunoichi tried to go to sleep, but Yugito still sensed Hinata's anger. After a couple minutes, she couldn't stand it any longer.

"Hinata-san, can I talk to you?" She whispered, sitting up. Hinata also sat up, regarding her somewhat suspiciously.

"What do you want to talk about?" the Hyuuga clan heir whispered back.

"Why are you all so angry with me? What did I do wrong?" Yugito asked.

"You've acted disdainful of me and my teammates, who happen to be two of my best friends in the whole world, and angry and resentful of our sensei. What, do you expect us to just smile and be friendly to you after that?"

"I-I just treated you the same way I treat everyone else," Yugito replied. "I swear, I wasn't trying to insult or upset you, I just acted the same way I do in Kumo. The only people I've ever treated differently are the Raikage and his brother. No one else really seemed to care."

Hinata was stunned into silence by that statement. The idea that Yugito treated all but two of the shinobi in Kumo the same way she'd treated them and got away with it, was astounding, but she didn't think Yugito was lying. The girl sounded too scared and upset to be lying to her.

"Why, though?" Hinata asked. "I mean, just because you're a Jinchuriki, I don't see why that would make people so respectful of you."

"I've been trained to become an ANBU since I was five years old," Yugito said. "I'm already a Chunin, and everyone says that that's very difficult to accomplish at such a young age. I guess, maybe that's why?"

"I don't know," Hinata admitted. "I really don't Yugito."

"Look, I'm really sorry if I upset you and your teammates," Yugito said. "I know I don't really have a good excuse, but I sincerely apologize to you."

"Thank you, Yugito," Hinata said, smiling at her. "I believe you, and I accept your apology." Yugito smiled, relieved.

"Thank you, Hinata," she replied. They both lay down to go to sleep.

XXXXXXX

"You heard all that, right?" Sasuke whispered to Naruto.

"Yeah. I guess she's just grown up a lot differently than I have," Naruto whispered back. "Do you think people are afraid of her, like you all used to be with me?"

"That makes the most sense to me," Sasuke said. "I think we should give her a second chance, now that we understand her a little better."

"Yeah, I agree."

XXXXXXX

_I suppose I could have been a little quick to judge her_, Itachi thought. _I'll give her another chance._

Merry Christmas! I had a few of these chapters done earlier, but I decided to give my fans a better Christmas gift. Enjoy!


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